Why I Moved My Digital Products from Squarespace to Podia

Updated Oct 2024

My journey with online course platforms has been quite the adventure, filled with twists, turns, and a fair share of "aha" moments. From Podia to Squarespace, and back again, here's the story of how I found the right fit for my digital products.

Picture this: It's late 2019, and I'm exploring the world of digital products with Podia. Life's good, ideas are flowing, and then... 2020 arrives with its, well let’s just call them unexpected challenges. Suddenly, my focus shifted to blogging and 1:1 services, and Squarespace seemed like the better perfect fit for those needs at that time.

As time went on, Squarespace introduced Member Areas and Courses and I was genuinely excited. The prospect of having built-in digital product tools on a platform I already knew and loved was enticing. It seemed like the perfect solution.

But here's the thing about shiny new objects - sometimes the shine wears off, revealing a few limitations underneath. Don't get me wrong, Squarespace is still an excellent platform for many projects, and I remain a proud Squarespace Circle member and Community Leader. However, I've always believed in using the best tool for the job, and for digital products, I realized I needed to look elsewhere.

In my search for the ideal platform, I've explored options like Kajabi and Teachable. Each has its strengths, but none quite hit that sweet spot I was looking for. It was starting to feel like I was on an endless quest for the perfect solution.

That's when I remembered Podia. Like an old friend who got a cool makeover, it had evolved. Improved blogging capabilities? Check ✅ Enhanced website builder? Double-check ✅✅ It was like Podia had been quietly improving while I wasn't looking, and I was intrigued.

So, why am I telling you all this? Because whether you're a fellow web designer juggling client sites or a DIY enthusiast trying to wrap your head around digital products, I've been in your shoes. I've wrestled with the platforms, I've navigated the learning curves, and I've experienced the joy when things finally clicked.

In this post, I'll walk you through my decision to return to Podia, comparing its features with Squarespace and explaining why it's now my go-to platform for digital products. We'll dive into the details - the advantages, the considerations, and the "why didn't I think of that before?" moments.

Whether you're team Squarespace, curious about Podia, or just trying to make sense of the digital product landscape, this post is for you. Let's explore together and find the right platform for you.

Why Podia Won Me Over

1. Reliability and Ease of Use

One of the biggest draws of Podia is its reliability and ease of use. While Squarespace is known for its user-friendly interface, I found myself spending more time troubleshooting and tinkering with layouts than actually creating content. With Podia, things just... work.

Key benefits:

• Less buggy experience compared to recent Squarespace issues

• Intuitive web builder with consistent design across all screen sizes

• More time for content creation, less time spent on technical issues

Personal experience: A particular pain point with Squarespace was (and is) the tablet view. While I've developed some workarounds, none are perfect. I really dislike having to tinker with mobile view separately on Squarespace when things should just stack beautifully with perfect spacing and no overlapping content. Podia solves this issue effortlessly, allowing me to focus on creating valuable content rather than endlessly tweaking layouts.

2. Comprehensive Feature Set

Podia offers a robust set of features that cater specifically to digital product creators. Here's how it compares to Squarespace:

• Unlimited video storage (Squarespace has limitations depending on the plan)

• Built-in communities (not available on Squarespace)

• Easy upsells and bundling options (either not available or limited on Squarespace)

• Built-in customer chat (extra cost on Squarespace, using a third-party tool)

• Integrated affiliate program (extra cost on Squarespace, using a third-party tool)

Personal take: These integrated features have streamlined my workflow significantly. No more juggling multiple platforms or paying for additional tools – it's all right there in Podia.

3. Superior Digital Product Management

When it comes to managing digital products, Podia truly shines:

• Cohesive "storefront" for digital products

• Intuitive course platform with less tinkering required

• Easy creation of bundles and payment plans

• Ability to sell subscriptions and options for digital products

My experience: On Squarespace, I felt like I was constantly cobbling together digital product blocks, trying to create a cohesive offering. It was technically possible to do some of these things, but it required stringing together multiple features in a way that felt clunky. With Podia, I can focus on creating content rather than moving blocks around, and the ease of creating bundles has noticeably boosted my sales.

4. Enhanced Customer Experience

Podia provides a seamless experience not just for creators, but for customers too:

• Clear, unified dashboard for customers to access all purchases

• Improved delivery of digital products

What this means for my customers: On Squarespace, it was often hard for customers to see everything they've purchased or have access to. With Podia, I can easily provide access to multiple files, larger files, and even provide supporting content for each download. It's a night-and-day difference in terms of user experience.

5. Integrated Marketing and Sales Features

Podia's marketing and sales features are where it really sets itself apart:

• Comprehensive email marketing integration

• Advanced features like tagging/segmenting and automated sequences

• Simplified, truly all-in-one solution

My journey: I was previously using ConvertKit for email marketing (and still really recommend it especially for their eCommerce integration with Squarespace), but when they announced they’re rebranding, I took it as an opportunity to just see what else was around. Squarespace's built-in email marketing platform (Email Campaigns) lacks features I need, such as tagging/segmenting and true automated sequences. Podia's email marketing is simpler than ConvertKit, but it offers all the features I actually use. Having everything built into one platform is a dream - it's what I wished Squarespace's Email Campaigns could be, but with Podia, it actually works!

6. Stellar Customer Support

One of the standout features of Podia is its exceptional customer support:

• Responsive and helpful support team

• Comprehensive knowledge base and resources

A real-life example: Recently, I noticed a small bug in Podia's color themes. The support person responded personally and quickly, acknowledging the problem, offering a viable short-term solution, and promising a complete fix within one business day. True to their word, the tech person followed up, and the issue was resolved promptly. This level of responsiveness and follow-through is refreshing, especially when compared to my recent experiences with Squarespace where bugs are often acknowledged half-heartedly and never actually resolved.

Pricing Breakdown: Simplicity vs. Complexity

Let's talk money, folks. One of the things that drew me back to Podia was its refreshingly simple pricing structure. They've got two plans and a couple straightforward add-ons. Squarespace, on the other hand, has a pricing structure that's about as straightforward as a corn maze. Let's break it down:

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Podia Pricing

Mover Plan

$33/MO (PAID ANNUALLY)

5% fees

Includes:

• 30-day free trial

• Unlimited download products

• Unlimited coaching

• Online community w/ unlimited members

• Unlimited courses

• Unlimited webinars

• Unlimited product bundles

• Free migration of up to 20 products

Shaker Plan

$75/MO (PAID ANNUALLY)

0% fees

Includes:

• 30-day free trial

• Unlimited download products

• Unlimited coaching

• Online community w/ unlimited members

• Unlimited courses

• Unlimited webinars

• Unlimited product bundles

• Free migration of up to 30 products

• Affiliates

Podia Add-Ons:

• Email Marketing: Free for first 100 subscribers, $7/mo for up to 500, $13 for up to 1500, etc. All plans include all features including unlimited emails.

• Teammates: Add 1 teammate for $16.67/mo, 5 for $41.67/mo, etc. Granular permissions mean teammates only see what you want them to.

ℹ️ For more about Podia features, check out this post.

---

Squarespace Pricing

Business

$23/MO

3% fees

Includes:

• 14-day free trial

• Unlimited download products

• Unlimited contributors

Basic Commerce

$28/MO

0% fees

Includes:

• 14-day free trial

• Unlimited download products

• Unlimited contributors

Advanced Commerce

$52/MO

0% fees

Includes:

• 14-day free trial

• Unlimited download products

• Unlimited subscription products

• Unlimited contributors

Squarespace Add-Ons:

Courses & Memberships: On any plan above, sell unlimited courses & memberships for an additional 9% transaction fee. Alternatively, add a Digital Products subscription:

• Starter Plan: $9/mo (7% fees)

• Core Plan: $29/mo (3% fees)

• Pro Plan: $89/mo (0% fees)

• Higher plans also come with increased video storage limits.

Email Marketing: Free to collect subscribers, then:

• Starter Plan: $7/mo (500 email limit)

• Core Plan: $14/mo (5,000 email limit)

• Higher plans available for additional emails. All plans include unlimited subscribers.

Scheduling: Add booking capability for coaching sessions:

• Emerging Plan: $16/mo for 1 calendar & unlimited services/appointments

• Higher plans available for additional features.

ℹ️ For a full Squarespace plan comparison, check out this post.

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Now, let's put this into perspective with a real-world scenario:

Imagine you're an aspiring entrepreneur, ready to take the digital world by storm with a course, a few digital downloads, and some coaching sessions. You also want to build an email list and maybe dabble in affiliate marketing. Let's see how the costs stack up after a year:

Podia Path:

• Shaker Plan: $75/month x 12 = $900/year

• Email Marketing (assuming 500 subscribers): $7/month x 12 = $84/year

• Total: $984/year

With this, you get unlimited everything (courses, downloads, coaching, webinars), affiliate capabilities, and email marketing.

Squarespace Route:

• Advanced Commerce: $52/month x 12 = $624/year

• Digital Products (to avoid 9% fee): $89/month x 12 = $1,068/year

• Email Marketing (500 emails/month): $7/month x 12 = $84/year

• Scheduling: $16/month x 12 = $192/year

• Total: $1,968/year

And even with this higher price tag, you're still missing out on features like webinars and affiliate marketing.

The bottom line? Podia not only comes out cheaper in this scenario but also offers more features and flexibility. Plus, you're not nickel-and-dimed for every additional feature you need.

Of course, your specific needs might be different, and Squarespace could be the better choice if you're primarily focused on a content-heavy website with just a few digital products. But for serious digital product creators, Podia's pricing structure offers both simplicity and value that's hard to beat.

Remember, the best platform for you depends on your specific business needs. Whether you're a web designer looking to expand your service offerings or a DIY enthusiast venturing into the world of digital products, I hope this breakdown helps you make an informed decision.

Where Squarespace Truly Shines

While Podia is my new go-to for digital products, Squarespace still has its strengths and place in your platform lineup:

• Excellent for simple physical product e-commerce and service-based businesses. Squarespace is a strong alternative to Shopify for simple physical products and most small business eCommerce solutions.

• Superior overall website design capabilities - if you like to add custom code or want to tweak things Squarespace is the way to go.

• Ideal for businesses primarily focused on content creation and not offering any digital products.

It's worth noting that I've personally kept my main homepage and blog on Squarespace due to the domain authority I've built over time. If you don't sell digital products and are solely a service-based company, Squarespace is likely the better solution.

Additional reading:

• Squarespace vs. Shopify: Which is Best for Small Business?

• Why I Love Squarespace for eCommerce

• Maximizing Your Squarespace Site with Extensions, Plugins, and Code Snippets: A Comprehensive Guide

Making the Transition

Transitioning from Squarespace to Podia for digital products was surprisingly smooth:

• For those considering the switch, Podia's migration service is a game-changer. Depending on your plan, they can move a significant number of your products, and even transfer your email subscribers, tags, segments, and campaigns if you opt for an annual Podia Email plan.

• Podia offers the ability to embed Podia buy buttons on Squarespace sites for a hybrid approach. This could be a great solution for people wanting to stay on Squarespace but still have some of the advanced digital products capabilities of Podia. Like I did, this option would allow you to keep some pages on Squarespace for SEO benefits - a potential “best of both worlds” solution.

The Results: Why I'm Sticking with Podia

Since making the switch to Podia for my digital products, I've seen significant improvements:

• More time for content creation ⏲️

• Increased sales due to better upsell and bundling options 💰

• Improved customer satisfaction with the unified dashboard 🤩

• Streamlined workflow with all digital product tools in one place 🎯

The Bottom Line

Choosing the right platform for your digital products is crucial for your online business success. While Squarespace remains an excellent choice for many website needs, Podia has proven to be the superior option for my digital product offerings.

Remember, the best platform for you depends on your specific business needs. Whether you're a web designer looking to expand your service offerings or a DIY enthusiast venturing into the world of digital products, I hope my experience helps you make an informed decision.

9 eCommerce Design Tips I Love from GoLive's eCommerce Template

I recently had the chance to dive into Trove, the latest eCommerce template offering from web design mavens GoLive. As a proud Squarespace partner myself, I was drooling over how beautiful and retail-ready this template is right out of the gate!

Whether you sell furniture, run a fashion boutique or curate artisanal wares, Trove provides a polished yet flexible foundation for your online shop. But beyond just being pretty, this template packs in smart eCommerce features that drive sales.

I highlighted some of my favorite elements in a recent YouTube template walkthrough. Check that out below to see Trove in action!

For those looking for hard-hitting tips to improve your own online shops though, here are 9 key eCommerce design takeaways from the Trove Template:

1. Include Shop Categories in Your Main Navigation - Having clearly labeled shop categories prominently placed in your header navigation helps visitors immediately understand the different products you offer.

2. Spotlight a Best Sellers Section - Featuring your most popular products front and center builds credibility by showcasing what you do best and what shoppers love.

3. Share Your Company Values and Story - Devoting website space to communicate your brand values, ethical sourcing commitments or origin story allows visitors to connect with the real people and passions behind your business.

4. Incorporate Customer Reviews and Testimonials - Sprinkling in social proof through reviews, testimonials and press features helps reinforce quality and trustworthiness.

5. Add a Visible New Arrivals Section - Giving customers an at-a-glance place to view your latest product drops and inventory additions encourages discovery of items they may have missed otherwise.

6. Structure Intuitive Category Pages - Clean sidebar navigation on your category pages lets visitors easily self-serve and find what they are looking for.

7. Keep Your Product Page Descriptions Focused - Leading with scannable yet hard-hitting product details helps visitors quickly grasp the essence of each item.

8. Include Supplementary Product Sections - Extended areas covering FAQs, care instructions, shipping specifics etc. answer common questions without cluttering up the main description.

9. Show Related or Recommended Products - Suggesting complementary or popular items encourages customers to shop more.

As you can see, beyond just looking absolutely stunning, Trove sets up some ecommerce best practices that any online seller should have in their playbook!

Ready to check out Trove for your own upcoming store build or redesign? Hop over to GoLive’s site for all the details on this standout template.

Hopefully these tips sparked some ideas on how to better spotlight products and craft intuitive experiences for your online shop! For more eCommerce web design inspiration, check out one these popular posts:

• My Favorite Squarespace eCommerce Templates

• 8 Tips for Designing an Impressive eCommerce Home Page

• How to Optimize Your Squarespace Product Pages

Watch The Video Walkthrough of Trove:

6 Simple Tips for eCommerce Photography that Converts

Updated Jan 2024

I’ll avoid starting this post with the whole “a picture is worth a thousand words” schtick and just get right down to it: crap photos are killing your shop’s vibe. Images that are dark, blurry, inconsistent or make it difficult for people to see what they’re actually buying are more than just a turn off. Did you know that an estimated 22% of online purchases are returned simply because the item looks different in person than it did online? That’s a huge number but one we can easily improve upon simply by having better photos to begin with. More orders and fewer returns? Yes, please.

ECOMMERCE PHOTO TIP #1

Lighting is everything.

The best thing you can do to make your DIY photos look more professional is pay attention to the lighting. Just like none of us likes how we look when our pics turn out dark and gloomy, your products feel the same way!

Depending on the style you’re going for you could either wait around for some great natural light or invest in a few items to set up your own little photo studio. There are lots of options out there for stands, lights, backdrops and other accessories to make sure your products are shown in the best possible light.

ECOMMERCE PHOTO TIP #2

Go for clean backgrounds, or none at all.

I almost always recommend that each product have at least one image that has either a white/light background or no background at all. Photos with clean backgrounds make your shop look super modern and easy to browse, cutting down on too much visual clutter.

You can add fun photos with colored backgrounds or patterns as additional product images but the main product thumbnail almost always looks best with a very simple background. To achieve this look on your own, you will need to brush up on your Photoshop skills and pay attention to things like shadows to keep things looking professional.

ECOMMERCE PHOTO TIP #3

Keep your style consistent.

Coming up with new photoshoot ideas is great and all but remember that your product photos are all part of the bigger brand story you’re trying to tell. Keeping your style consistent can also help people identify your brand at a glance even if they interact with it on several different platforms i.e. your website, your social media + any other channels you may be selling on such as Etsy or Amazon.

You can create consistency in your photos by using the same backgrounds or scenes or by sticking to a well-defined color palette in your images.

ECOMMERCE PHOTO TIP #4

Use high-res images that are “zoom-able”.

One of the hard things about shopping online is that you miss out on the sense of touch. Without your potential customers being able to feel what they’re buying, give them the next best thing and make sure your images are high resolution and look great even when zoomed way in. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been shopping online and appreciate the ability to zoom in to really see things like fabric details or the texture of a product. So helpful!

• To enable product image zoom on Squarespace: from the product details page, click EDIT > click the Pencil icon > select ZOOM from the HOVER ACTION drop down menu.

• Image size tip! Even though you can upload images up to 20MB, using images that are 500KB or less will help make sure that your site loads quickly.

ECOMMERCE PHOTO TIP #5

Show the whole product from all angles.

Again, the goal of eCommerce is to give people as much information as they could get if they were shopping with you in person. One way to do this is to make sure that you have images of the front, back and sides of your product. Even better - a 360° video or spinning gif!

It’s also important (and this really should go without saying) that you show your whole product in photos! This isn’t the time to get artsy with weird cropping, either intentionally or unintentionally.

One of the most common questions I get is how to fix product images from getting cut off on Squarespace. For this, you’ll just want to make sure that your finished photos all have the same ratios. They can be square or 2:3 or whatever you want them to be, they all just need to be the same to make sure they always look as intended.

ECOMMERCE PHOTO TIP #6

Have a photo of every product variation.

Lastly, even if you think your product variations are super simple and straightforward - take a picture of each and every one of them! This is obviously important for things like color variations but are also nice for product variations that come in different sizes or flavors. For example:

• Color variations - example: you sell sweatshirts available in red, blue and green. Have one main pic that shows all three together + one image for each color variation.

• Size variations - example: you sell candles and offer a one pack or a three pack. Have your main image be the single candle and a secondary image that shows three candles together.

• Flavor variations - example: you sell CBD gummies that come in four flavor options. Have one main pic that shows all four flavors + one image for each flavor variation.

Bonus Budget eCommerce Photography Tip

If you’re going to invest in photography, I say it’s 100% worth it to spend the money photographing your products first. You can check out this post all about how to integrate free stock images for things like website backgrounds or other non-shop pages of your website. So, if you need to, don’t feel bad about using some carefully curated stock photos to set the mood or tone for your site. Just come in strong with your stellar product photos and things will feel personalized, professional and ready to sell.

My Recommended Source for Easy eCommerce Product Photos

Let’s say your calling in life isn’t to be a photographer. What to do? Meet Soona. Finally, an easy way to get great-looking photos and take the stress out of finding and hiring a photographer you can trust. Soona calls themselves a “self-service content creation platform” and here’s how they work:

• You book a virtual shoot (or in-person if you’re near LA, Seattle, Austin, Minneapolis or Denver). You can choose from their different image or video packages or just select what you need ala carte. You can add-on special things like having a hand model, full body model, or even a pet model 😻 depending on your needs.

• Mail them your products.

• On the day of your shoot, you join in virtually where you can interact with the crew to give real-time feedback so the photos are exactly what you’re looking for.

• Once your shoot wraps, you select the photos (or videos!) that you love and the finished, ready-to-upload results are sent to you within 24 hours. Flat-rate pricing ($39 photos & $93 videos) makes it easy to stick to your budget.

Here’s what I love the most about this process: you only pay for what you love and know that you’re actually going to use… versus paying a photographer hourly for a photoshoot where you’re not even sure what the results will be for weeks, sometimes months.

Overwhelmed by choices? Check out the eCommerce Starter Pack!

p.s. All pics in this post are from Soona!

A Step-by-Step Guide to Starting an eCommerce Business in 2024

In my many (many) years as a web design and former design agency owner, one of the biggest traps I've seen new business owners and startups fall into is wanting everything to be absolutely perfect before launch day. And not just in a “let’s make sure to spell check the copy” kind of way. No, more in an “analysis paralysis”, perfectionist kind of way. Here are some of their trademark behaviors:

• They get stuck on minute details that won’t affect their initial sales or long-term success. 

• They put off launching while they worked on extras that could have easily been added in Phase 2 (or 3… or 5… or 10) of the project. 

• They research and research and research but never actually make decisions. 

• They stall out because they’re afraid they missed something. 

And if you’re wondering why you clicked on a blog post about how to start an eCommerce business in 2024 and landed instead on a little side story about people who’ll probably never launch, here’s why: 

Because I want you to see how simple it is to just do it.

One of the things I love about Squarespace is how easy it makes it to just jump in and start selling. You can’t put off making sales while you wait for your website to be ready for you. You need to start selling ASAP. The rest can come later. 

Taking a Lean-Agile Approach to Web Design & Development

Let me tell you how my little minimalist heart just sings at the sound of the words “minimally viable product.” When others hear it and think “barebones”, I hear the cha-ching of that cash register ringing. 

An MVP product is one that starts lean so that you can: 

• Keep initial investment costs in check. 

• Get feedback before adding on new features.

• Start seeing revenue right away to fund and finance the implementation of those features.

It makes sense in product development and app development and all sorts of other areas so why not web design? 

So here we are: how to actually make it happen.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Starting an eCommerce Business in 2024

I could write a college textbook-sized document that covers all the things you could ever need or want to do on your website at some point but these are the things that you need to launch your MVP site. You know, the one that’s going to start making you money ASAP before you even crack open a book. We’ll dig into each of these things in detail in a bit but here’s our shortlist of absolute must-haves:

• The Right Website Subscription 

• A Domain Name

• 3 Basic eCommerce Settings (Money, Taxes, Shipping)

• Simple Content + Images

• Legal Policies

With these things set, just add your products and you’ll be ready to sell!

Now let’s dig into each item in more detail: 

The Right Website Subscription

There are two parts to this: the right website platform + the right subscription plan. 

Now, it’s no secret that Squarespace is the MVP of MVPs. It’s my eCommerce website builder of choice and it should be yours, too. Some people will tell you (falsely) that if you’re in eCommerce you’ve “got to be on Shopify” and - sure- that’s an option you could totally look at.

However, as both a longtime Squarespace Circle Member and a Certified Shopify Partner I feel like I’m uniquely qualified to speak objectively about both platforms. I’ve built sites of all types and sizes on both and yet still choose Squarespace 9 times out of 10 for the sites I work on. Here’s why: 

• Ease of Use - I’m guessing you didn’t get into business to also learn how to code something as simple as a landing page or contact form. You’re most likely going to be the one managing day-to-day things on your site and I don’t want you to go mental trying to do so. 

• More Commerce Features - Yep, you read that right. On Squarespace, you can offer more product variations and sell more product types all without the need for paid plugins. 

• Limited Monthly Costs - You’ll find no one that hates feeling nickel-and-dimed more than me so the type of thing that really grinds my gears is when you pay a monthly fee to a service provider only to quickly realize that in order to do what you really want you’ll need to sign up for 8,342 additional paid apps. Welcome to the Shopify experience: where the world is at your fingertips so long as you’re willing to string together multiple third-party apps with questionable security levels in order to do the one thing the platform claims to be able to do well: sell stuff. With Squarespace, everything’s built right in with the exception of a few very specific optional add-ons making it easy to not just sell but to run your entire business without the need for multiple additional paid apps. 

(For more Squarespace vs. Shopify comparison notes check out this post: Squarespace vs. Shopify: Which is Best for Small Business?)

So now that we’re all on the same page with Squarespace, it’s just a matter of picking the right plan. I break down all the options in detail here but here’s the TL;DR:

• Choose Basic Commerce ($27/mo) if you’re just getting started and are in super cost-saving mode. You can switch plans at any time so you can always upgrade later. This plan is probably also sufficient for smaller sellers whose primary income isn’t generated online. 

• Choose Advanced Commerce ($49/mo) if your eCommerce website is the centerpiece of your business. The advanced tools really are what’s going to help you compete most effectively and they come at a pretty reasonable premium over the Basic plan. 

A Domain Name

Hot tip before we jump into all things domain-related: if you pay for your Squarespace subscription (above) annually you can register a new domain name FOR FREE for the first year! This will not only save you a few bucks, you’ll never have to figure out how to log in to your “web host” ever again. Because it’s Squarespace. And it’s all just right there. 🧘‍♀️ZEN

Ok, now on to picking a domain name. I have two slightly contradictory pieces of advice on this front:

1. On one hand, your domain name is super important. Probably more important than your business name or your product names or your brand colors or anything else. 

2. On the other hand, just pick something and keep on trucking. 

In this post, I give a bunch of my been-there-done-that advice on domain names but since we’re going for simple here, my number one piece of advice on domains is this: 

• Go for the .com version! Vanity domains are becoming slightly more ok but if you absolutely can, find a .com domain that you can live with instead. People will get your vanity domain wrong, like, 96% of the time and that’s annoying for them and bad for you. 

 Beyond that, I just recommend keeping things as short and easy to spell as possible!

3 Basic eCommerce Settings (Money, Taxes, Shipping)

eCommerce doesn’t have to be scary! There are 1,001 settings and features and options but what it boils down to when you’re just getting started is: 

• Have a way to get paid

• Make sure you’ve got your tax situation on lock

• Put together a simple shipping strategy 

That’s it. Everything else is secondary or can be added on and taken care of later. 

1. Money - Create a Stripe account so that you can accept cards plus Apple Pay and Afterpay. One account, all the payments. Simple. (More here.)

2. Taxes - Put ‘em on autopilot.

3. Shipping - Don’t be stubborn. Just offer free shipping already. Here’s my #1 most recommend strategy in detail!

Simple Content + Images

This is one of my 3 Mistakes New Online Sellers Make: they say too much. Yep, that’s right. Most eCommerce newbies feel the need to write way more than they need to for their websites when the truth of the matter is that people don’t read websites, they SKIM them.  

Bottom line: the best sites are simple, straightforward, and highly skimmable.

Most e-commerce sites need only a few static pages (such as an about page and an FAQ page) but I often see newbies give more real estate to the history of their company than they do to what they’re actually selling. This is a huge mistake and has the unintended side effect of reducing sales, which makes people think e-commerce isn’t worth it. The truth is, we’re often getting in our own way when it comes to sales.

A good rule of thumb for web copy is to write out what you think you need to say, then cut it in half... and then cut it in half again. Upside: less to write and faster to launch!

When it comes to the images on your site, it’s also important to keep things simple. Here are two of my best simple image tips: 

1. Don’t worry about minute details in stock photos that may not be exactly right. For example, I once had a client say that a stock photo (that was otherwise perfect for their fitness brand) wasn’t going to work because the brand of weights shown in the image wasn’t the same as the brand they own 🙃 I guarantee no customer is going to notice a thing like that! Images are just there to set the mood and visually contribute to a bigger story. Find ones that work but don’t sweat the small stuff.

2. Selecting images that are consistent in style is one of the best ways to make stock images look less… stock. Select images that have the same overall colors and tones or the same photographic style, such as all black and white images. 

You’d also be surprised at how few photos you’ll actually need on an eCommerce website - aside from product photos, that is! A few well-chosen images for banners and backgrounds on your static pages and you’re in business!

Legal Policies

I know, I know: if the tiny print is really as important as it is, why isn’t it at least in a larger font?! 😂 Jokes aside, you really need to make sure your arse is covered in case something goes sideways. Chances are it won’t but just think of the legal policies on your site like buying insurance; you get it on the off chance that something does go wrong.

My #1 go-to for website policies is Termageddon because it’s an affordable way to make sure that I’m always covered. The policies are auto-updated any time a data privacy law changes (which is actually pretty often these days) which really aligns with my desire to make things as simple and streamlined as possible. Set things up once and you’ll be covered forever.

You may also like: Legal Checklist for New eCommerce Businesses

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Putting It All Together

Now that you’ve got the basics taken care of all you need to do is add products and you’re in business! Your MVP website will be a true MVP! The most important thing you can do is just launch. That’s it. Getting started is the hardest part but with these few basics taken care of, you can start selling right away while you turn your attention to the rest of your business. By launching quickly:

• You won’t be stuck obsessing over teeny, tiny, meaningless details that won’t affect your ability to sell now OR see success in the long run. 

• You can feel confident in selling online and add additional features funded from those first sales. 

• You can build on the strong foundation you have when the time is right. 

Time to launch your MVP eCommerce website!

What does it cost to start an eCommerce website in 2024?

Starting an eCommerce website can be an exciting way to sell products or services online and reach a wider audience. It’s no secret that my favorite platform for building an eCommerce website is Squarespace, which offers a range of templates and features to create a professional-looking website and super powerful online shop. But what does it cost to start an eCommerce website on Squarespace in 2024? In this post, I’ll break down the various costs associated with building and maintaining an eCommerce website on Squarespace, including template and plan pricing, payment processing fees, and other potential expenses.

Before we jump into the details, I have a few helpful tips to keep in mind about pricing in general:

Tip #1

Choose the right tool (or suite of tools) for the job

There are still a lot of people out there who seem to think that eCommerce is a costly undertaking, completely out of their reach. While this can definitely be the case if you’re using the wrong tools, I think it’s why it’s so important to make sure you know about all the options out there and what exactly each tool does. It’s also important to have a clear idea of exactly how each piece of software or app you plan on using specifically fits into your business ecosystem. I’ve seen too many business owners paying for redundant systems because they didn’t realize that Software A had the same features or capabilities as App B. (For some of my favorite tech combos for small businesses check out this post.)

Tip #2

Don’t be afraid of monthly subscription costs - just be smart about them

Look, I hate being nickel-and-dimed as much as the next person and I know it’s super annoying that everything these days seems to come with a monthly or annual subscription cost. However, paying monthly subscription costs for apps or software is definitely no more expensive than developing something custom. In fact, custom development is often much, more more expensive. I’ve had more than a few potential clients come to me over the years and inquire about building a custom solution for them because they either “can’t afford” or “don’t like” the monthly costs associated with various apps or tools to do the job. TL;DR things didn’t work out.

Think of it like this: if a company like Squarespace spends a lot of money on R&D to build a powerful eCommerce platform they can either charge a small number of big companies a ton for it (because those companies can afford it) -- or they can charge a large number of small businesses a little for it. Monthly subscription costs offer smaller players the opportunity to use the same tools that used to only be available to the big guys and so I say this is a huge win for small businesses! Love it or hate it, that SaaS model is what has helped put the cost of eCommerce website development into the realm of possibility for many small business owners that may not otherwise be able to afford it.

Tip #3

Don’t forget about tangential costs

It would be impossible for me to estimate all of these things because there are so many variables but there can be quite a few “non-website” costs that can impact the overall success of a website. Upfront costs are things like investing in great branding, strong product photography and compelling copywriting. You might also have ongoing expenses for things like paid ads, promoted posts, social media marketing, social media strategy and SEO. All of this is just to say that while the costs I’m going to outline below are a good place to start for the actual website part of things that you should expect to budget for these other upfront and ongoing costs to get the most out of your investment in a website.

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What does it cost to start an eCommerce website in 2024? 

Upfront Costs

The bulk of the expenses of an eCommerce website project come in the setup / getting started stage. There are three main factors to consider: the cost of a custom website template (if you choose to go that route), the cost of working with a web design professional to design/build/develop your site, and whether you need to add any third party plugins to customize your site.

Squarespace Template

All modern websites are built off a starting theme or template. This is just a framework that’s used as a jumping-off point so that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel with every new website.

One of my favorite things about Squarespace is that even the free templates are all modern and beautiful. Even better, sites built on the Squarespace 7.1 platform don’t even really need to choose between templates like before because all templates have the exact same features. This means that you’ll never be locked into anything by choosing the “wrong” template. 

You also have the option on Squarespace from buying a template design from a third-party designer which is kind of like a compromise between using one of the free templates and going all-in with a web designer (like below). Paid templates are a really affordable way to get a “custom” look without the custom price tag and allow you to get started really quickly so IMHO they are well worth their very affordable price tags!

For more on templates, check out these posts:

• How to Pick The Right Squarespace Template for Your eCommerce Site

• The Best eCommerce Templates for Squarespace

• More Great Squarespace eCommerce Templates

Total template cost: $0-$399

Web Designer

I mean, not to be too biased or anything but this is where your investment can really make the difference 😉 especially when it comes to making your chosen template stand out from the crowd. An experienced web designer can use custom CSS, HTML, and javascript to tweak templates so they don’t look so generic and will have an excellent understanding of UX/UI best practices so that your finished site looks professional and converts visitors into customers! 

The cost of a web designer is going to vary based on their years of experience but also just the going rate for the type of projects they specialize in and the clients they work for. For example, a designer that works mostly for local businesses in a small, rural town is probably going to have a lower hourly rate than someone who works for brand name companies in NY or LA. This doesn’t mean that one’s work is necessarily more valuable than the other, just that they cater to different markets and meet different needs. For an average small-to-medium business looking to either build their first eCommerce site or revamp an existing one, I have seen designers charge as little as $1000 and as much as $7000 or more. 

When comparing web designers, it’s important to not just compare the bottom line cost but also the deliverables. What are you getting exactly? How many pages? How many products? Will you be getting help with SEO or copywriting in addition to the web design setup? What’s not included or is going to cost extra? Take a look at all of these things so you know exactly what you’re paying for. 

Last note on this subject: if you feel like you’re somewhat technically inclined and interested in learning some of the basics you could always forgo hiring a designer and go the DIY route. As with most things of this nature, you have to understand that what you save in money doing it yourself will probably cost you in time. An expert can work a zillion times faster and knows what pitfalls and roadblocks to look out for. In most cases, I think that optimizing your time to market is a super relevant factor to consider; after all, you can’t start making money until you launch so spending too long in the development phase has a cost all its own.

Total web designer cost: $0-$7000+ 

Squarespace Plugins

These are code snippets that extend the functionality of your site and unlike other third party apps below, most of these you only have to pay for once when you first set them up. Check out my favorite plugins for Squarespace eCommerce in this post.

Total Squarespace plugin costs: $0-$160

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Recurring Costs

Beyond the initial setup, there are some website expenses that you’re going to get billed regularly for, either monthly or annually. Paying annually almost always comes with a discount over paying monthly so save yourself some $$ and always sign up for subscriptions annually!

Squarespace Costs

Here are the main expenses for a Squarespace eCommerce website: 

• Website Subscription $276 - 588 / year - I break down the difference in all the plans in this post but this cost is for either the Basic or Advanced Commerce plans

• Domain $9-12 / year - Unless you’re new to Squarespace and pay for an annual subscription in which case you get your first year FREE!

• Email (G Suite)* $6 / user / month - Same as with the domain/hosting, above - Squarespace offers this FREE for one year for new accounts.

Third Party Tools

Alright, this is where things get VARIABLE because the apps you choose to use are going to probably different than the apps someone else uses making this super unique to each business. That being said, here are the rough costs for the things that I recommend for ALL business:

• Email Marketing Subscription $60 - $420 / year - Compare my top three picks in this post

• LiveChat $492 / year - more on my favorite tool for this and why I think it’s so important here

• Legal Policies $99 / year - make sure you protect your business with an ironclad privacy policy and terms of service

• Aftership $108 - $1188 / year - a custom order tracking page can make your small business look totally awesome

• Automatic Returns Platform $0 - $1188 / year - worth every penny even if no one returns a thing. Find out why in this post.

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Bottom Line

Modern eCommerce software has made it so much more affordable for small businesses to enter the market and even those pesky monthly costs should be considered manageable versus the high custom development costs of yesteryear. When it comes to total expenses, there are some ways to make sure you get the best bang for your buck by carefully selecting a platform and template that meets your business needs. Armed with the right tools and people on your team, you can keep monthly expenses in check and focus on growing your business.

Shopify vs Squarespace: Which eCommerce Platform is the Best in 2024?

Are you looking for an e-commerce platform to launch your online store? Two popular options that you may have come across are Shopify and Squarespace. Both of these platforms are designed to help small and medium-sized businesses build and manage their online stores, but which one is right for you? 

In this article, we'll compare Shopify vs Squarespace, looking at their features, ease of use, pricing, and more. By the end of this article, you'll have a better idea of which platform is best for your needs.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is an all-in-one e-commerce platform that lets you create and manage your online store. It's a cloud-based platform, which means that you don't need to worry about hosting or server maintenance. 

You can use Shopify to build your website, manage your inventory, process payments, and more. As of 2023, 4.4 million websites use Shopify across 175 different countries. This popularity has led to Shopify being the go-to when someone thinks of building an e-commerce platform.

What is Squarespace?

Squarespace is a website builder that also offers e-commerce capabilities. It's known for its user-friendly interface and beautiful templates. 

Squarespace lets you build your website using drag-and-drop tools, and you can use it to sell physical and digital products. Unlike Shopify, Squarespace is not exclusively an e-commerce platform; it's designed to help you build any type of website.

With over 3.7m subscribers on Squarespace's platform, not only is this a popular place to build a website, but the platform is also improving massively, especially compared to its competitors like Shopify.

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Considerations of Each Platform

Below are some considerations you should bear in mind when deciding between Squarespace and Shopify. They are both fantastic platforms in their own right, so make sure to take the time to weigh them up for your business.

Ease of Use

Both Shopify and Squarespace are designed to be user-friendly and intuitive. Shopify has a straightforward interface that makes setting up your online store easy. The platform offers a variety of templates (some free and some paid), and you can customize your site by editing the HTML and CSS. Shopify Themes built on the newer Online Store 2.0 framework do feature better drag-and-drop functionality and more options to add sections to non-shop pages. This opens up a lot of design capabilities that Shopify previously lacked.

By comparison, Squarespace features a full drag-and-drop interface. Squarespace sites built on the latest Fluid Engine platform have almost endless possibilities for customization and design and while there are paid Squarespace template options out there (see some favorites here) all design features and functions are available even if you choose to start from a free template. Setting up a store on Squarespace is also a simple process, though some sellers with larger catalogs may find it harder to organize or manage their inventory without some extra support.

Features

Both Shopify and Squarespace offer a wide range of features to help you build and manage your online store. Here are some of the key features of each platform:

Shopify:

• Inventory management

• Payment processing

• Order management

• Shipping and fulfillment

• Marketing and SEO tools

• App store with over 4,000 apps and integrations

Squarespace:

• eCommerce tools

• Marketing and SEO tools

• Customizable templates

• Domain registration and hosting

• Blogging tools

• Exciting extensions and plugins, such as the Squarespace SEO plugin

• Third-party integrations with platforms like EasyShip and TaxJar

Pricing

Pricing is an important factor to consider when choosing an e-commerce platform. Here's how Shopify and Squarespace stack up in terms of pricing:

Shopify:

• Basic Shopify: $29 per month

• Shopify: $79 per month

• Advanced Shopify: $299 per month

Squarespace:

• Business: $23 per month

• Basic Commerce: $27 per month

• Advanced Commerce: $49 per month

It's worth noting that both platforms offer free trials, so you can test them out before deciding which one to move forward with for your business.

Aside from monthly platform costs, you also need to factor in costs for any extra apps or plugins that you may need. Shopify features a very large app store which can be tempting to turn to but nearly every quality app requires a monthly subscription in addition to what you pay Shopify. These fees can range from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars or more per month so if you’re not careful they can really add up quickly.

There are apps, extensions, and plugins that you can add to Squarespace as well but in general, there is more built-in functionality within Squarespace that does not require any extra monthly spend. Aside from features such as Scheduling or Email Campaigns, everything else is included with your Squarespace subscription which can help you keep your budget in check.

Bonus: Check out this post to determine which Squarespace plan is right for you and use code KRISTINE10 for 10% off your Squarespace subscription.

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Shopify vs. Squarespace Conclusion

After a detailed comparison between Shopify and Squarespace, it is evident that both platforms offer a lot of features and benefits to their users. However, Squarespace comes out on top due to its ease of use, affordability, and the availability of all the essential features required to run an online store. Shopify is a great solution for some businesses but Squarespace is the ideal solution for small businesses and startups who want a sleek and modern-looking website with the ability to sell products with ease. As your business grows in complexity or needs to scale, you may find yourself looking to Shopify as a solution but you’ll need to be willing to take on the additional costs and some design limitations when you do.

Shopify Vs Squarespace FAQs

• Can I use Shopify to create a regular website without an online store?

  Yes, Shopify does offer website templates that don't have an e-commerce functionality. However, these templates may not be as flexible as that Squarespace offers. If you don’t plan on selling anything right away or plan on using an alternate checkout method, go with Squarespace!

• Does either Shopify or Squarespace offer a free plan?

  Squarespace does not offer a free plan.

  Shopify does offer a very low cost “Starter” plan but it’s really geared towards those that do not want or need a full website of their own and is not really recommended for most users.

  Both platforms offer free trials so that you can try them out before subscribing to a paid plan.

• Can I sell digital products on Squarespace?

  Yes, Squarespace allows users to sell digital products like ebooks, music files, and video downloads. Check out this post for all of the things you can sell on Squarespace without the need for any additional third-party apps.

• Does Shopify charge transaction fees on top of its monthly subscription fees?

  Yes, Shopify does charge transaction fees of 2% on their Basic Plan, but these can be waived if users use Shopify Payments as their payment gateway.

  Both of the Squarespace Commerce plans feature 0% transaction fees.

• Can I use my own domain name with Squarespace?

  Yes, Squarespace allows users to use their own custom domain name or purchase one through Squarespace.

• How do I improve my Squarespace SEO?

  To improve your Squarespace SEO you can follow this Squarespace SEO checklist or list of Squarespace SEO tips.

This post was co-authored by guest contributor Henry Purchase, Founder of SEOSpace. SEOSpace offers an easy-to-use Chrome plugin created specifically for Squarespace. Their tool analyzes your Squarespace website for SEO and provides actionable steps to help you improve your search performance. It’s the “Yoast for Squarespace!”

Everything You Need to Know About Podia

Updated Oct 2024

If there’s an eCommerce trend that I don’t think is going away anytime soon (if ever!) it’s the continued productization of services. Customers love the ease of eCommerce and want interacting with other parts of their favorite businesses to be just as simple. For you, the business owner, making it easier for clients to book with you, learn from you, engage with you and even interact with your other fans is a great way to boost revenue or even create passive income. (I’ve even done this myself - learn about it here!)

The trouble I find most people have in getting started is just in the pure overwhelm of all the technology and tools out there to get the job done! (How to choose? Which is best? How to link everything together??)

With this in mind, I’d like to introduce you to Podia. Podia, meet business owner - they’re looking to create a course or launch a community or book webinars or sell digital products. 

Business owner, meet Podia. The (nearly) all-in-one tool to do all of the above and more. 

What is Podia? 

Podia started off back in the day as a simple course-building platform that also had some cool features if you sold digital products but it has evolved into a really well-built platform with a range of capabilities for all types of businesses that have digital products. This could be anything from an ebook to a webinar, full-fledged course or even an online community.

Here’s a high level overview of the main features: 

• Website Builder - Podia’s website builder is SIMPLE. As in, it doesn’t hold a candle to Squarespace or any of the other builders out there. BUT. It is easy to use and there’s a case to be made for simplicity. If what you’re needing is just a simple sales page or landing page for your stuff to live on, Podia is going to make that super easy. For everything else, I would recommend checking out the section below on how to integrate Podia with Squarespace. 

• Email Marketing - Much like the built-in website builder, Podia’s email marketing platform is simple and easy to use. It’s another feature that I would lean on for simple updates for products within Podia itself such as notifying students of course updates, etc. Personally, I think email should be such an integral part of any eCommerce marketing strategy that most people will be better served by another platform. (Check out this post for my faves - and note that ConvertKit integrates supremely with Podia!)

• Digital Downloads - Ok, now we’re getting into where Podia really shines! Digital downloads can be pretty much any file type you can think of so you can sell ebooks, templates, audio files, video files, spreadsheets - whatever your little heart desires. Selling digital products on Podia is a dream and has some powerful capabilities that Squarespace doesn’t. The biggest of these is that customers are able to access a history of all the digital products they have purchased from you by logging into their account. On Squarespace, they need to go back to their inbox, find the original order confirmation and request the download be resent to them (original download links expire after just 24 hours). Other notable features are the ability to create bundles, add upsells, do pre-sales or use digital products as free lead magnets. So many possibilities!

• Coaching - Podia makes it easy to “sell your knowledge” via consultations or other session types. The built-in coaching tools are perfect for any type of expert that’s been trying to use a traditional scheduling tool to book and get paid for their time. Now, I do really enjoy Squarespace Scheduling for this type of set up as well but just like with digital downloads above, there are some features in Podia that may tip the scale in its direction. The biggest of these is that it’s just a really great customer interface! Not that Squarespace Scheduling isn’t - just that I do think customers really like using Podia. And, just like with digital downloads, coaching products can be bundled with any other product or used as upsells (or with an upsell). This makes marketing your coaching options or consulting services a breeze!

• Communities - I’m going to throw a curveball out there and say that this may be one of my favorite features of Podia? I know, I know - weird, right? Well, you know I’m no fan of social media and I will tell everyone who will listen that they need to do all they can to make sure they actually own their audience and the interactions they have with them. Think of the community feature on Podia as a Facebook group that you set up except for you own everything about it and you don’t have to compete for your audience’s attention while engaging with you or one another. Communities can be free (like a private FB group) or paid (more like a VIP slack channel). You can also use a community similar to a Patron or Substack where it’s a place you release exclusive content or provide VIP access to you or your products. You can even set up things like subscription tiers with communities, giving some members more exclusive access than others. 

• Courses - Courses are where Podia got its start and I would say that it’s probably what most people know them for. Podia’s course builder is just like everything else they offer: well-organized and straightforward. I personally find it less overwhelming to use than other products in this category such as Teachable - which has a ton of features but is almost so bloated it’s unusable and not very intuitive to use. Podia has the features you need to set up and sell courses (bundles, drips, pre-sales, pre-launches, upsells, bundles, quizzes, etc.) but somehow just makes all those things so accessible and easy to use. Of course another strong selling point on using Podia as your course platform is that it integrates with all the other features you may also have there like digital downloads or coaching products so it’s easy to use the different parts to leverage off of and support one another.

• Webinars - If you’ve been using YouTube Live or Zoom to host online workshops, webinars on Podia are a huge win; no more anonymous views or losing people to someone else’s competing content. If you offer paid webinars you can even earn passive income through replays of your content, automatically stored by Podia. 

• Affiliates - The last big feature worth highlighting is Podia’s built-in affiliate management capabilities. If you’re looking at adding an affiliate program (as you should) and you have everything on Podia anyways it’s nice to know that you won’t have to add a third-party system to the mix.  

Are there any Podia alternatives worth trying?

As I mentioned above, there are quite a few platforms that you could look at if you’re just interested in one specific aspect of Podia and not all the others: Squarespace Member Areas, Squarespace Scheduling, Slack, Teachable, Peach’s, etc. All together though, Podia could in theory replace all those extra subscriptions except Squarespace + your email marketing platform of choice which I think are still best handled independently. Together, those three could become your ultimate tech stack!

The only other platform that I’ve come across that has similar all-in features as Podia is Kajabi but I personally find Kajabi to be a headache to work with and not worth the hefty price tag. Compared to the closest plan possible, you’ll save up to $2400 per year by skipping Kajabi in favor of Podia! Speaking of pricing…

Which Podia plan is best? 

Podia has two simple plans. Here’s how they compare: 

When selecting a Podia plan, the most significant factor to consider is the transaction fees. Podia has recently updated its pricing structure, simplifying it to just two plans:

1. Mover: $33/month with 5% transaction fees

2. Shaker: $75/month with 0% transaction fees

Let's break down which plan might be best for you based on your monthly sales:

• If your monthly sales are less than $840, the Mover plan is more cost-effective, even with the 5% transaction fee.

• If your monthly sales are $840 or more, the Shaker plan becomes more economical due to the absence of transaction fees.

Here's a quick calculation to illustrate:

• At $840 in monthly sales:

  • Mover: $33 + (5% of $840) = $75

  • Shaker: $75 flat fee

Beyond the cost considerations, there is one other key feature to take into consideration: affiliates. If you're interested in using affiliates to promote your products, you'll need to opt for the Shaker plan, as this feature is not available in the Mover plan.

Summary:

• Choose the Mover plan if:

  • Your monthly sales are less than $840

  • You don't need affiliate marketing capabilities

• Choose the Shaker plan if:

  • Your monthly sales are $840 or more

  • You want to use affiliate marketing

Remember, as your business grows, you can always upgrade from the Mover to the Shaker plan to take advantage of the 0% transaction fees and affiliate features.

Who is Podia a good fit for? 

Anyone who has knowledge to share, is an expert in their field or creates things! I’ve also seen so many of my “traditional” eCommerce clients look to add features like those that Podia offers as a way to transition some of their services into products or add a human touch to an otherwise very transactional experience. I also think Podia is a great fit for anyone who has been running a private (or public) Facebook group, allowing you to take control of your audience and message, build community and cross-sell your other products. 

How to integrate Podia with Squarespace 

Since I recommend you keep all of your main content on your primary domain for SEO purposes, I would suggest linking out to Podia from your Squarespace site via buttons and text links placed strategically throughout your site. Here’s a quick checklist of where and how to do that: 

1. Podia Account Login Link - Add a link to the top level navigation on your main site for existing clients to login to their podia accounts. This makes it so people only have to remember your main domain but can then easily access their purchased products via Podia. 

2. Links to Products - Use the provided checkout embed codes from Podia to send people directly from a sales page on your website to the Podia checkout for that particular product. Again, this allows you to keep all that great keyword content on your main site (good for SEO!) and still take full advantage of all Podia’s features. 

3. Links Back to Your Site - Even if you keep the majority of your content on your main site, customers and clients are still going to end up on your Podia site as they interact in your community, work through courses or access digital content, etc. To keep people from ending up down a dead end road, be sure to also add a link back to your home page in the navigation area of your Podia site. You can also add links in Podia to any other frequently visited pages on your main site such as your blog. 

I’m sure there are lots of other places you can think of to organically link content back and forth between Squarespace and Podia but the three things above are the must haves! 

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The Bottom Line

Podia is an awesome nearly all-in-one platform that people looking to sell digital content, offer workshops or webinars, sell courses, build communities or even sell coaching or consulting services should definitely check out. It’s an affordable solution that can help simplify things for both you and your customers while still being super rich in features and tools. For some, it could even replace a website builder and email marketing provider but for most I think of it as a perfect addition to those platforms. 

Maximizing Your Squarespace Site with Extensions, Plugins, and Code Snippets: A Comprehensive Guide

If you're using Squarespace to create your website, you're probably aware that extensions, plugins, code snippets, and apps can help you do so much more with your site. But, do you know the differences between them and how to use them effectively?

In this post, I’ll go over everything you need to know about Squarespace extensions, plugins, code snippets, and apps. I'll explain the differences between them and provide useful tips for using them in the most effective way possible.

I'll also give you a rundown of every single Squarespace extension currently available. That's right, every.single.one! We’re talking extensions for shipping and fulfillment, finance, inventory and products, sales and marketing, and more. You'll get a comprehensive list of all the add-ons that integrate seamlessly with Squarespace, and to help you get to the bottom of things quickly I'll even highlight my favorite ones.

And, since I know that finding the right plugin or code snippet can be a daunting task, I’ve got some trusted plugin and code resources to check out. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced Squarespace user, you'll find something useful in this post.

So, if you're ready to take your Squarespace site to the next level, keep reading! I'll help you make the most of Squarespace extensions, plugins, code snippets, and apps.

Extensions, Plugins, Code Snippets, Apps - what’s the difference?

• Plugins can be anything from short code snippets to more complex code solutions. Most Squarespace plugins allow you to change the look of something on your site with CSS or to do something that isn’t necessarily possible by Squarespace right out of the box using JavaScript. These are all written and created by third-party developers outside of Squarespace.

• Extensions are third-party apps or programs to help you manage, optimize, and expand your site’s functionality or help you in some tangentially related aspect of business (such as with accounting, taxes or shipping). Think of these as “official” Squarespace plugins or Squarespace apps if Squarespace had an app store.

3 Squarespace Code & Plugin Tips

1. Less is More - I usually advise that extra code and plugins are added sparingly. Consider these the “accessories” to a really great outfit instead of the main show. You’re always best off doing as much as possible sans code (and that’s actually quite a lot, thanks to Squarespace 7.1’s Fluid Engine!) and then peppering in a few impactful code tweaks just to personalize things a touch. This not only makes it a lot easier (less custom code to sort through!) but can also help ensure that your site loads quickly which is great for SEO.

2. Know Your Platform - There’s a lot of legacy code floating around out there for Squarespace 7.0 but all new sites are built on Squarespace 7.1 and the code is often not applicable to both platforms! A good code developer will make sure to indicate which platforms (or themes for 7.0 sites) their code works on but if you find something out there that’s not working the first thing I would check is that you’ve found code that applies to the platform you’re currently on.

3. Test Thoroughly - It’s easy on Squarespace to add in some code and just walk away but you always want to be sure to to test that things are working as expected when you’re not in edit mode. View your site in an incognito window and on different screen sizes. Does everything look and act as it should? Is your code having any unintended impact on other areas of your site? Even well-written code snippets and plugins can have some negative interactions with other customizations you may have added so test, test and test again just to be on the safe side.

What doesn’t require an extension on Squarespace?

There are so many different things that don’t require any additional add-ons or extras on Squarespace that I think they’re worth mentioning! These are all things that often require extra third-party apps or add-ons on other platforms but that are just built right in on Squarespace.

• Social Media - Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest

• Content - YouTube, Vimeo, Spotify, SoundCloud

• Payments - Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay, Afterpay

• Shipping - USPS, FedEx, UPS

• Files - Google Sheets, Dropbox

• Google Things - Google Search Console, Google Analytics

To connect any of the things above, you can do so right from within Squarespace!

A Brief Rundown of Every Single Squarespace Extension Currently Available

As mentioned above, consider this list of Squarespace Extensions like the “Squarespace App Store.” All of these add-ons integrate seamlessly with Squarespace - they have the official Squarespace stamp of approval! (p.s. This is a looooong list so I’ve highlighted my faves 😉)

Shipping & Fulfillment

• Aftership - Boost sales with branded tracking pages, proactive notifications, and actionable shipping insights (Related post: How to Send Delivery Confirmation Messages with Squarespace)

• Easyship - Save up to 91% on shipping across 550+ courier services & boost global revenue growth 56% with this feature-rich platform (Related post: How To Set Up a Profitable Shipping Strategy on Squarespace)

• Order Desk - Order management app that helps you automate your order fulfillment process

• Returns Center by Aftership - Frictionless self-service returns management portal to give smooth returns experiences (Related post: How to Manage eCommerce Returns on Your Small Business Website)

• ShipBob - Simple, fast, affordable two-day fulfillment from a global fulfillment network

• Shippo - Save time and money on shipping

• ShipStation - Import, organize, and ship orders from over 180 channels, carriers, and fulfillment providers

Finance

• Avalara - Create ready-to-file sales tax returns

• Dext - Simplify, standardize and streamline your digital sales accounting with Dext Commerce (formerly Greenback)

• FreshBooks - Generate reports and automatically sync clients, items, and orders from all your sales channels

• MYOB - Automate the flow of your Squarespace sales, payment and tax information into your MYOB file through a daily sync.

• Quickbooks Online - Connect Squarespace to QuickBooks Online to automate accounting of your sales data

• TaxJar - Automated sales tax calculations, reporting, and filing (Related post: The Definitive Guide to Squarespace Sales Tax)

• Xero - Automate the flow of your Squarespace sales, payment and tax information into your Xero file through a daily sync.

Inventory & Products

• Art of Where - Design your custom printed products made on-demand. Leggings, silk scarves, t-shirts, handbags, notebooks & more

• Candid Wholesale - A better way to buy, sell, and pay for wholesale (Related post: How to Set up a Wholesale Shop on Squarespace)

• Printful - Print on demand for your Squarespace site powered by Printful (Related post: 3 Ways to Crush This Holiday Selling Season with Your Squarespace eCommerce Website)

• inFlow Cloud - A complete inventory management system (Related post: A Minimalist’s Guide to Squarespace Inventory & Product Extensions)

• LitCommerce - Enable Multichannel Selling: Bulk List Products & Sync Orders with the top-global marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Walmart, TikTok Shop, etc.

• Printify - Create, sell, and ship custom products anywhere in the world (Related post: Creating a Custom Print-on-Demand Store with Squarespace)

• Printique - Professional photo lab delivering high quality fine art prints, frames, canvas, acrylic, and metal

• Soona - Meet Soona. The virtual content studio for e-commerce product photography and video. Over 15k brands love Soona. Only pay for the content you love. $39/photo and $93/video. (Related post: 6 Simple Tips for eCommerce Photography that Converts)

• Spocket - Add dropshipping products from US & EU suppliers directly to your store

• SPOD - Design & sell custom products

• Syncee - Find products for your dropshipping business

• Trunk - Multi-channel real-time stock syncing and bundling (Related post: How to Sell Bundles & Kits on Squarespace)

Sales & Marketing

• Channable - Empowering your eCommerce growth

• Delighted - Automate post-purchase customer feedback surveys

• EZ Texting - Send Smarter text promotions and automated SMS campaigns to your customers

• GoDataFeed - Transform static product catalogs into dynamic product feeds for hundreds of channels like Google, Facebook, and Amazon

• Judge.me - Product reviews with free photos & videos for social proof

• LiveChat - Delight your customers and fuel your sales with a complete customer service platform (Related post: How to Add LiveChat to Squarespace)

• MailChimp for Commerce - Drive traffic and sales with personalized marketing

• Outfy - Create stunning social media graphics and automate social media posts

• Progressier - Transform your Squarespace site into a mobile app and deliver push notifications

• Sprout - Use Sprout to easily plant trees, become more sustainable, and reach eco-conscious customers.

• Weglot Translate - Translate your website into multiple languages

Want to connect something not on the list above? Don’t worry - it’s probably still possible through the use of the Squarespace Commerce API + Zapier!

My Most Trusted Plugin & Code Resources

• Will Myers’ Curious Coder Membership - If you’d like to learn a little behind how code works (or even how to write some yourself), I highly recommend Will’s Curious Code Membership! There are some code snippets you can just copy and paste which is nice when you’re in a hurry to just solve a problem but the real magic is in Will’s super easy-to-understand videos where he explains how and why things work the way they do.

• Inside The Square - Becca’s YouTube is filled with answers to all of your most frequently asked Squarespace code questions and she always keeps it fun and high energy.

• Chris Schwartz-Edmisten - Chris has a really great way of explaining things that I also really enjoy.

• Beatriz Caraballo - Beatriz has a ton of great code resources, especially if you’re a fellow Squarespace web designer.

• Ghost Plugins - My favorite all-around source for plugins is Ghost because I trust that they’ll all work well and they’re curated and sourced from the best Squarespace pros around (including yours truly).

  For specific plugins that I use & recommend, check out one of these round-up posts:

• The Squarespace Plugins for eCommerce Sites a Pro Uses

• My Favorite Squarespace Plugins & Extensions for eCommerce

• Squarespace Plugins an eCommerce Pro Uses

Bottom Line

You now know all the basic ins and outs on Squarespace extensions, plugins, code snippets, and apps! With this knowledge, you can now explore the vast world of Squarespace customization and know when and how you can get the most out of your Squarespace website. By experimenting with different plugins, code snippets, and apps, you can add exciting new features and functionalities to your site and make it even more effective and impressive. Whether you want to optimize your site for search engines, enhance its performance, or simply make it look more beautiful, Squarespace has everything you need to achieve your goals. So go ahead and try new things and experiment with different tools and techniques. With Squarespace, the sky's the limit!

All About Courses on Squarespace

Squarespace’s latest update completely revamps digital products and adds a new feature: the ability to add course content right on your own Squarespace website! If you’ve been toying with the idea of augmenting your eCommerce lineup with a course or other digital product - I think you’re going to be so excited by this. If you haven’t yet thought about adding a course or digital bundle to your online shop, I think that once you’ll see how easy and beautiful it is your mind is going to start thinking of things (or at least that was just me 🤣)!

Crash Course on Squarespace Courses?

It’s as simple as it sounds and as pretty as you’d expect a feature from Squarespace to be! Squarespace Courses allows you to build online courses, offer them for sale in whatever way works for you and have everything live right online next to the rest of your content. Here’s the features in a nutshell:

• Keep your students & customers on your site with everything you sell in one place.

• Create a standalone course or bundle digital products together.

• Offer pricing that works for you: one-time payments that offer lifetime access, monthly access with recurring payments, or free!

• Courses can feature video, text or whatever content fits your needs & industry.

• Offer discounts & promotions on digital products.

• Customers are all managed in one place - the same as customers buying other products types from you.

• Most importantly, it's easy to make your content look good because it's Squarespace! Built-in project tracking, clean course navigation, simple chapters & lessons and a beautiful course overview page are just the latest.

What’s the difference between Courses and Member Areas?

Good Q. Courses allow you to create sequential lessons (organized into chapters, if you’d like) where your customers aka students can visually track their progress. Even though both require paid access this differs from a Member Area in that it has that traditional course structure in place. So, for example: if you were an expert in making pies and wanted to offer student access to your paid video library of pie-making videos, creating gated content through a Member Area would be perfect for you. However, if you wanted to organize those videos into an order that helps give more structure to the lessons (first you talk about ingredients, then prep, then actually making the dough and rolling it out before moving on to fillings, etc.) then Courses is what you want.

What about bundles of content?

Want to bundle together your beginner’s guide to pie making and your advanced pie making tips into one mega pie making super class? DONE. New digital product pricing plans allow you to do just that so that granting access to multiple things can happen in one fell swoop.

What does Squarespace Courses cost?

Ok, let’s break this down because at first glance I’ll admit that it’s a lot to take in!

First, keep in mind that the pricing info below is on top of your regular Squarespace subscription. (Check out this post if you want my breakdown on those options. Hint: I always recommend at least Basic Commerce to all my clients to avoid transaction fees and score a ton of other perks.) Now this is also a benefit because if you’re on a Commerce Plan already, technically you don’t need to add anything else in order to start selling a Course or other digital product such as a Member Area. There are some

Selling Without
Add-On

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Any Commerce Plan

9% Transaction Fees on Digital Products
(still 0% fee for physical products)

Digital Products
Add-On Pricing

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Starter

7% Transaction Fees
10 Hours of Video Storage

$9/mo

Core

3% Transaction Fees
50 Hours of Video Storage

$34/mo

Professional

0% Transaction Fees
Unlimited Video Storage

$119/mo

So, as you can see the only thing that’s different about the options above are the transaction fees and the # of hours of allowed video storage. All other features including the ability to sell unlimited courses & memberships, have unlimited students, offer multiple pricing plans including bundled options, and access to customer analytics & insights are all included on ALL plans.

How does this pricing compare to other learning management platforms?

Things range quite a bit in this space so it can be tough to compare apples to apples. For example, my favorite course platform up to this point has been Podia and it’s most expensive plan tops out at $75/mo.

Comparatively speaking that does make Squarespace the more expensive option however, I think there’s something to having everything in one place.

Here’s how similar plans on other platforms compare to Squarespace’s top-of-the-line Professional Digital Products Add-On:

• Kajabi - $399/mo

• Teachable - $199/mo

• Thinkific - $199/mo

• Podia - $75/mo

• Other alternative checkout methods with even more pared down features are available for less.

Bottom Line

This new feature is a really powerful addition to Squarespace’s Commerce lineup and if you’re anything like me, it should inspire you to start thinking of what knowledge you have that you might be able to start sharing with your audience. Even if you only offer a free class to start to try it out, I think you’ll find that brand fans are always eager for new ways to engage with you. Adding Squarespace Courses or new digital products can be a great way to augment your existing product lineup - or even offer a way to stick your pinky toe into the pool! Give it a try!

How to Design Your Own Squarespace Template

I know what you’re thinking — designing your own custom Squarespace template must be a super hard process that only the most advanced and skilled Squarespace web designers can pull off, right? Don’t worry; it’s easier than it sounds! 

Sure, there are a lot of templates out there to comb through and pick from, and I even have a bunch of posts all about templates if you’d like to check those out:

• How to Pick The Right Squarespace Template for Your eCommerce Site

• The Best eCommerce Templates for Squarespace

• More Great Squarespace eCommerce Templates

• My Favorite Squarespace eCommerce Templates for 2023

But I really think that designing your own template is an option worth your serious consideration.

Here’s why:

• It’s fast and easy to customize your own template, so you can spend more time on other things.

• It's free and included on Squarespace, so you can just jump in and start editing.

• It’s flexible, so no matter how you decide to pivot or grow, there’s room to build on.

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Get Started

So how exactly do you design your own template for your eCommerce website on Squarespace? The exact steps are covered below, but if you prefer to watch, check out my walkthrough of this process in my YouTube video.

You can also follow along with my steps by starting your own free trial of Squarespace. Click the button below to get started and you can work along with me!

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Squarespace Blueprint’s Step-by-Step Guide

We’re skipping the template library and building our very own template. Squarespace makes this as easy as pie! Just by selecting from a few preliminary options and settings, a completely custom site is created for you, ready to fill in with your content and products.

STEP 1

Add Your Site Title

The first step asks you to give your website a name. This is important because even if you end up adding a logo to your site later on, the Site Title is what search engines see. So don’t get weird - just give this your company name!

STEP 2

Build Your Homepage

In this section, you’ll work through recommendations for your home page layout from top to bottom. You can change up any of these if they aren’t perfect but try to pick layouts and sections that are as close as possible as you’d like each to look like to save yourself time later on. You can choose as many or as few sections as you like, but I recommend definitely adding one from each, as it will help you frame out a complete home page. 

STEP 3

Add Additional Pages

This section is where you can define which other pages you’d like Squarespace to populate for you, so take the shortcut! Select all but Services (unless you also offer services, of course). That means that Shop, About & Contact should all be selected. 

STEP 4

Choose Your Color Palette

Here you’ll be presented with some designer-approved color palettes to select from. It’s probably not very likely that your exact brand colors are represented, and that’s ok - just pick something close. If you’re unsure where to start, I recommend selecting from an option in the “Neutral” section - most of those make for a nice jumping-off point and work with a wide range of brand accent colors.

STEP 5

Choose Your Font Pairing

Lastly, you’ll need to select a set of fonts to use as a (you guessed it) jumping-off point. Just like with colors, it’s ok if you have some predefined fonts you use for your brand and don’t see them represented in the options. You can always tweak them later as needed. That being said, if you don’t already have any brand fonts picked out or aren’t sure that the fonts you’ve chosen will work well for the web, these are all great options. Choose a sans serif font pairing if your brand skews minimal/modern, a serif font pairing for a traditional/elevated brand or a mixed pair to make things feel dynamic/fun. 

TADA!

Check Out Your New Site & Next Steps

Once you’ve worked through the 5 onboarding steps, Squarespace will do its magic and generate your own custom template to match your preferences and selections! It’s ok if everything isn’t exactly perfect; my guess is that it’s already feeling a lot more YOU than a generic template. From here, you’ve got the groundwork set to go in and customize the placeholder text and swap out the stock images with your own. Use the template wording as a guide for how much copy you need to write and what spaces you have to fill. If you’re needing a little help with stock photography, check out this post all about how to use Unsplash to curate your website images. W

When you’re ready to start selling, follow these steps in A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Set Up Your First Online Shop and use code KRISTINE10 for 10% off your Squarespace subscription! You’re in business!

My Favorite Squarespace eCommerce Templates for 2023

I’ve posted before about some great templates to check out if you’re looking to launch or update your Squarespace eCommerce website (see here and here) but I’m back with some of the latest and greatest for 2023!

Keep in mind that while not all of these are necessarily eCommerce-forward right out of the gate, there’s no reason why you can’t add a shop big or small to any of them. This is one of the things I love most about Squarespace: that you can have a beautiful content-rich website AND an eCommerce storefront all in one place. If you’re feeling skeptical about how to transform any template you may find into your online shop’s new home, be sure to read the notes on each template below on what I would do for each of these to make them more shop-able. It may be easier than you think!

Plate

GHOST - $199

What I like:

This fun template by Ghost (one of my faves!) immediately stands out because of it’s bright color but that’s not the only thing to love. I really like how the lines and shapes create well-defined sections. This template’s design allows for plenty of areas to call out content without feeling cluttered in any way.

What would make it even better for eCommerce:

This template could easily transform into something perfect for an online shop. I would use the sections at the top of the home page to call out shop categories and the section on the home page that currently features the menu a place for shop bestsellers. This template would work especially well for a brand with a mission that needs to be conveyed - think: a B Corp or woman-led business, etc.

Start Your Site With Plate →

Save 10% off any Ghost template with discount code: KRISTINENEIL

Quinn Method

GOLIVE - $299

What I like:

GoLive always does a great job at providing lots of space for content to shine so I would use this template to show off benefits and features of your online course, membership, classes or community. I love that it has a place for reviews and that pricing table is also pretty cool!

What would make it even better for eCommerce:

This template is already set up as a sales page for an online course so I think it would be perfect if you’re selling any sort of digital good or services. I think this template would also work well if you’re using Squarespace Scheduling or Podia to book classes, sell memberships, provide access to a community and more.

Start Your Site With Quinn Method →

Seen

Squarespace - FREE

What I like:

This free template from Squarespace is already set up as an eCommerce shop so it’s a great jumping off point. I love the minimal aesthetic and it would expand easily to fit almost any brand. I especially enjoy the scrolling banner on the homepage with the featured coupon code. Many sites put this at the very top so adding it a little below the fold makes it unique and eye-catching.

What would make it even better for eCommerce:

I would bulk up the home page content by adding a section about the brand plus ones that help shoppers discover helpful information such as a FAQ page or returns info. Also, instead of the section with a featured product I might make that for featured shop categories so that people can see at a glance what the shop is all about.

Start Your Site With Seen →

Boho Social

Applet Studio - $189

What I like:

This template by Applet Studio is a great mix of cheerful + minimal which is an aesthetic right up my alley! I love the strong CTA in the home page banner and that there’s a spot right away to sign up for an email list - so important for eCommerce! I could easily see this template working well for a fashion, jewelry or home good line.

What would make it even better for eCommerce:

Something to keep an eye out for whenever you’re looking for an eCommerce template is a template that already highlights a blog, as this one does. It’s easy to convert section highlighting posts into ones featuring products. A shop is really just a blog that you can take action on!

Start Your Site With Boho Social →

Tilt - Paper Template

Ghost - $149

What I like:

If you have a hard time seeing the forest through the trees, any of the Paper templates from Ghost should be on your radar. These are just like regular templates except there’s no placeholder branding to have to update; everything is in black and white making it a blank slate ready for you to customize to match your brand. Genius!

What would make it even better for eCommerce:

What I like about this template (be sure to check out the demo) is the tidy header area. I would add shop categories and just like my tip above, change any featured blog posts out to shop products instead. All those pics on the home page could be featured products or categories!

Start Your Site With Tilt - Paper →

Save 10% off any Ghost template with discount code: KRISTINENEIL

Affiliate Shop Page Add-On

GoLive - $99

What I like:

The last item on this list is another one that’s a little different but I think is so smart! This template from GoLive is designed to be an add-on to any existing website. It will automatically update to match your existing site’s branding and is perfect if you are looking to add an affiliate shop to your site so that you can show off sponsored content or even link out to your Like To Know It.

What would make it even better for eCommerce:

I wouldn’t change a thing! This add-on is already perfectly designed for adding an affiliate shop to your existing Squarespace site. I think it’s so important that this add-on allows you to keep all this content on your own site - great for a SEO boost!

Add an Affiliate Shop to Your Site →

The Best Technology Combos for Your eCommerce Business

Updated: September 2022

It seems like all business tools these days come with some sort of SaaS subscription-based pricing model. And at first, all the accounts seem to make sense. You sign up for one service that does this thing, and another service that does that thing… but before you know it your bank account is getting hit several times a month for all sorts of things! And it isn’t just a financial drain. Running multiple services side-by-side means you’ve got to keep track of multiple logins, track which programs are in charge of which tasks, and (my favorite) try to get them to all play nice together.

Using tools like Zapier can help ease the pain of connecting various apps and software together but at some point I think we’ve all wondered if there was a way we could pare things down - if only for our own sanity. In the tech industry, the buzzy word for all the software and tools that you use to build your product is a “technology stack.” When I look at my client’s businesses I see all the software, services, subscriptions, apps and extensions as their personal technology stack and the goal is always to keep it as efficient as possible.

An optimized technology stack:

• Reduces potential for errors or bugs,

• Is easy to manage for individuals and small teams,

• Ensures you’re not underutilizing and resources and getting the most for what you’re paying for,

• Helps create a consistent UX for your customers or team as they move between platforms,

• Allows you to see the big picture, and

• Keeps costs low.

With these things in mind, there’s one platform I find to be the perfect starting point for any small to medium business or startup: Squarespace.

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Building a Strong Foundation

Start With Squarespace

I love Squarespace not just because it allows you to access nearly everything you need for your business with one login but it does so at a super affordable price point. Using Squarespace as your foundation allows you to skip extra payments for things that often require additional subscriptions and costs with other website platforms. In addition to the actual website builder you can eliminate the need for these extra services because they’re all included with your Squarespace subscription:

• Domain including WHOIS privacy & protection

• Hosting with Unlimited Bandwidth & Storage

• SSL Certificates

• Site Security 

• SEO Features

• eCommerce Functionality (yes, some web platforms charge you to add this!)

Squarespace is a minimalist’s dream because you can access nearly all of the things you’ll need to run your online business with one password and one subscription. It’s infinitely customizable to suit your unique product/service mix and business goals and easy to build on to as needed. It’s the perfect foundation to build your eCommerce business on.

(Related post: Why I Love Squarespace for eCommerce)

Now for as robust as the Squarespace is, the cheese doesn’t stand alone. Most businesses are going to need to pair it up with some additional software/services to really make things hum. Keep reading for the software combos I turn to time and time again for running smart eCommerce businesses!

Try Squarespace Free for 14 Days →

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Best Email Marketing Combos

Squarespace + Squarespace Email Campaigns

Best combo if you’re just getting started

There’s a lot to love about Squarespace’s built-in email marketing solution and if you’re just getting started it should definitely be on your radar as a great all-in-one tool.

Squarespace + Flodesk

Best combo if you want to build your list but don’t need commerce-based automations

Flodesk is a good option if you’re looking for something that has a great user interface and if image-based emails are important to you. It integrates well with Squarespace but more so for traditional email marketing & list building than for eCommerce-specific automations.

Squarespace + ConvertKit

Best combo if you want to get serious about email marketing AND eCommerce

If you’re as serious about email marketing as you are about selling online, ConvertKit should be at the top of your list of tools! It’s powerful where it needs to be and simple where it matters; it’s clear that everything about it is geared to convert.

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General eCommerce Technology Must Haves

Squarespace + noissue

Best way to build a great eCommerce experience

One of the best ways to make an impact with new customers (and continue to excite loyal shoppers!) is through a great on-brand unboxing experience. If you’re selling anything that requires packaging noissue makes it easy with low order minimums and help making sure you always look good.

Squarespace + Termageddon

Best way to keep your shop protected

Termageddon is my gold standard when it comes to making sure the sites I work on have the best iron clad privacy policies, terms of service and even cookie policies. The best part? Once you’re set up the first time, your policies will auto update whenever laws change meaning you’ll never be left hanging.

Squarespace + Peach’s

Best if you want to start an affiliate or referral marketing program for your shop

If you’ve been thinking of adding affiliates or referrals to your marketing arsenal, you’re so smart! Adding these types of programs help you keep control of your marketing spending, expand your reach and boost awareness. Peach’s is the best partner to Squarespace on this front and the only one I recommend!

Squarespace + Paperform

Best way to add a custom order form to Squarespace

For complex order forms, quote request forms or forms that require conditional logic or other advanced features, I recommend Paperform. You can integrate forms seamlessly onto your Squarespace site or even use them to add on features and functionalities to your store.

Squarespace + Candid Wholesale

Best way to sell wholesale on Squarespace

Whether you’re just getting started selling wholesale or have been doing it for a while and looking for a way to do it better, Candid Wholesale is the way to go. This platform syncs up your Squarespace inventory and allows you to create custom wholesale order forms, custom pricing and a whole platform of other features to build your wholesale business.

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Best Options if You’re Selling & Shipping Physical Products

Squarespace + Easyship

Best for low to medium volume shippers

Easyship makes it easy to fulfill and ship orders and in addition to never having to stand in line at the post office ever again, you’ll also score a sweet shipping discount over paying retail - win-win-win!

Squarespace + Aftership Tracking + Aftership Returns

Best for medium to high volume shippers

Help customers help themselves by providing a great experience that extends beyond the order confirmation page. With Aftership Tracking + Aftership Returns you can create branding tracking pages and even allow customers to do self-service returns.

Squarespace + Trunk Inventory

Best if you sell on multiple platforms

If you’re selling on Squarespace + other platforms like Etsy, Faire, Amazon, Shopify or Squares - you NEED Trunk! Trunk makes inventory management super simple and makes sure that your inventory counts are accurate across the board. Bonus - it also makes selling bundles and kits on Squarespace a dream!

Squarespace + ShipStation

Best if you use a third-party logistics company for fulfillment

ShipStation integrates with literally every 3PL provider I’ve ever encountered and it makes fulfillment by a third-party really seamless for Squarespace shop owners.

Squarespace + Squarespace POS app + Square card reader

Best if you’re selling online AND in person

The free Squarespace app allows you to basically run your business from anywhere and have full visibility into things like orders and inventory. You can accept mobile payments, scan shipping labels, fulfill orders, update stock levels and more - all from your phone or tablet.

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Best Options if You’re Selling Digital Products, Courses, Memberships, Events & Classes

Squarespace + Squarespace Scheduling

Best for in-person or virtual meetings, events or workshops that require payment and/or registration

Squarespace’s add-on Scheduling works really well and the thing I like most about it is that all of the language can be modified to suit whatever it is you do. You can even create packages of courses and sell gift certificates or subscriptions for any of your events, webinars or classes.

Squarespace + Podia

Best for online courses, coaching, memberships or communities

Podia is great at the items above but it’s also not too shabby if you’re selling digital products making it a great all-inclusive add-on to Squarespace. Podia is rare in that it is very feature-rich but still super simple for you (and your customers!) to use. It’s easy to create bundles of your products or services and market them using the built-in tools.

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The Bottom Line

Thinking strategically about what features you really need to move your business forward is smart whether you’re trying to keep your budget in check or just wanting to streamline the website tools you use. When in doubt, I always say that there’s no shame in starting small. You can always upgrade plans to add features later on or incorporate new platforms if need be.

Having too many services and software subscriptions for your eCommerce business can be a headache, though - especially if you’re just getting started with eCommerce. You’ll likely end up overpaying for features you don’t use, leaving yourself in a bad spot when it comes to budgeting for the tools you really need.

Hopefully, my strategic pairings and combos above will help you create the perfect technology combos for your eCommerce business!

How to Use Unsplash to Curate Your Website Images

Great photos can really make or break a website but sometimes it’s just not in the cards to have a bunch of your own. This could either be because it’s just not in the budget to have a photoshoot right now or because the high quality ones you do have just aren’t enough to fill out an entire website.

When I’m looking for photos for projects, the number one place I head it to unsplash.com. Check out the video below where I show you how to source royalty-free, good looking, stock images through Unsplash and also share some of my best tips for curating stock images that don’t feel too, well, stock. Watching video not your thing? Keep reading to catch the details!

p.s. Watch the video on Loom for video bookmarks to jump to specific sections or if you need a transcript/captions.

Tips on Using Unsplash

1. Create a free account so that you can save images you find into collections! This makes it so that you can be more organized and intentional when selecting images.

2. Add images to collections by clicking on the plus icon (NOT the heart icon) and either adding it to an existing collection or creating a new one.

3. Share a collection by heading to your profile, clicking into the collection you want to share and grabbing the url from your browser bar. That’s it - easy!

Stock Image Tips

• Image Tip 1: Keep Things Consistent - Selecting images that are consistent in style is one of the best ways to make stock images look like a professional took them just for you. Select images that have the same overall colors and tones or the same photographic style, such as all black and white images. Making sure to stick to a well defined color palette is probably the number one way you can make things feel cohesive.

• Image Tip 2: Think Micro to Macro - Try to choose a range of images that represent your industry, field or topic across the spectrum. Using the example from the video above about finding pictures for a farm to table restaurant website that might mean looking for pics of everything from individual ingredients to the fields they are grown in to the chef that selects them and finally the guests that enjoy each dish. Find images that show close ups and then others that give the bigger picture. Some of my favorite stock images are actually ones that are just used as background images on a website to “set the mood.” These images usually have alot of space that would look good with text or a button over the top of it or could even just be used as a transition between website sections.

• Image Tip 3: Don't Get Lost in the Details - Don’t worry about minute details in stock photos that may not be exactly right. For example, I once had a client say that a stock photo (that was otherwise perfect for their fitness brand) wasn’t going to work because the brand of weights shown in the image weren’t the same as the brand they own 🙃 I guarantee no customer is going to notice a thing like that! Images are just there to set the mood and visually contribute to a bigger story. Find ones that work but don’t sweat the small stuff. Like I said, unless you had a photo shoot of your own you could scour all the stock photos on the whole internet and never find one of yourself!

• Image Tip 4: Think Outside the Box - Get creative in the search terms you use which can help you uncover interesting photos for your site that other people in your industry may not be using. For example, it’s a pretty safe bet that every restaurant out there searched for “restaurant” photos but my bet is that not a lot of them searched for “Tokyo street food” or “friends celebrating over drinks.” Thinking about your target demographic and searching for things that may resonate with them or help them see themselves in your site is a good place to start if you’re feeling stuck on what to search for.

Example Website Photo Collections

Want to see how all these tips comes together to create four unique image collections? Check out these sample collections I created for four hypothetical food concept websites. Each of them has to do with food, cooking, baking, eating together with friends and family and yet none of them look alike at all. I’ve used a consistent photo style for each and focused on finding images that represent a wide range of keywords within each board so that there’s a wide range to choose from. I didn’t worry about little details like the brand of dishware or the type of vegetable, I just went for things that could help tell the story of each brand alongside their own personalized images and website copy.

Home Baked Goodness

Foodie Fun

Fine Dining

Farm to Table

Check out each collection to see how each could clearly represent four very different brands and let me know if you use Unsplash to curate your own image collections!

How to Move Your Etsy Shop to Squarespace

Updated March 2022

If you’ve been selling on Etsy and landed on this blog post, my guess is that you know it’s time to make the switch and you’re wondering just how to move your Etsy shop to Squarespace. You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t already thinking about it. 

But I also know that it’s a big move that you probably have 1,001 questions about. 

• You’re wondering if you should choose Squarespace or Shopify.

• You’re wondering how the math shakes out.

• You’re wondering how to actually.. . you know, MOVE everything from one platform to another? 

I’m going to answer all those things and more, but first - for anyone who’s still unsure about whether or not they should be selling on their own website vs. Etsy:

Why You Should Be Selling on Your Own Site:

1. So you can build your own brand, on your own domain. I’m guessing you didn’t start your business just to be known as another user on someone else’s platform. Having your own website is step one in building not just a business but a brand.

2. So you can own your contacts and build your email list. Your best future customers are people who have already bought from you. Using your own website to build an email list is one of the smartest ways to future-proof your business.

3. So you make your own rules. Don’t let someone else tell you what shipping options you can offer, how you can discount your own products, or limit how you market your own business. 

4. So you can stop bleeding money in the form of fees - Etsy may seem like a good idea if you’re just getting started and want to test out new products or see what kind of traction you can get. But once you start selling? Hoo boy - it’s fees on fees on fees. (See my more thorough breakdown of the money math down below.)

5. So you can control the customer experience. On your own site, ideas you have for upsells or add-ons are easy and you can build a deeper connection with your audience through content and marketing. 

6. So you can sell anything you want. Etsy is supposed to be a place that’s limited to handmade or vintage items but there are so many opportunities for you to increase your bottom line by augmenting your product lineup with other products. (Don’t worry, I’ve got ideas for you on that!)

7. So you can keep customers focused on your own work. Sure Etsy may get a lot of traffic but even if you can manage to show up on the first page on Etsy, you’re just another listing sitting right there side-by-side everyone else. On your own site, you can show off the quality and value of your work instead of being reduced to the seller with the cheapest listing price.

8. So you can sell to all the customers NOT on Etsy. There’s a myth out there that you just can’t quit Etsy because of “all the traffic” on the site. Well, what about all the people NOT on Etsy? What about them? I’m assuming you’d like to sell to them, too? Having your own website will help make your work visible to anyone on the internet searching for what you offer.

Why Etsy Sellers Should Choose Squarespace over Shopify

Imagine this is tea and I’m spilling it.

A lot of sellers moving from Etsy think they should make the leap over to Shopify. I think it’s because someone’s aunt’s best friend’s brother who works in “tech” told them so? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But let me tell you: that is not a good enough reason to choose a web platform.

I’ve used them all, tried them all, worked on them all for clients, and hands down I come back to Squarespace every time. Especially for sellers moving from Etsy. Here’s why:

• Squarespace offers more design options and control than Shopify. I know you care about aesthetics and creating “cute” page layouts on Shopify is NO FUN. I mean, I spend almost all day up to my elbows in HTML and CSS and even I shudder at the thought of it. 

• Squarespace offers more marketing capabilities than Shopify. Thinking about blogging as a part of your marketing strategy (you should, it’s great for SEO!)? Good luck making that work on Shopify. 

• Squarespace is less expensive and requires fewer paid add-ons to work. Shopify looks all fun and games until you realize that if you want to add something as simple as a contact form to your website you’ll need to add a paid app. I mean, half the reason to get away from Etsy is that you’re sick of being nickel-and-dimed!

Bottom line: in my experience, there are so many clients who end up talking to me after they gave Shopify a try and regretted it. They wish they went with their instinct to move to Squarespace instead right from the get-go. Basically, when it comes to design freedom and the ability to customize and sell anything you want (all while not getting dinged by a thousand paid apps in the process) the grass is definitely not greener in Shopify land. 

Let’s Do The Math

Not convinced yet that moving to Squarespace from Etsy is a great idea? Let’s take a look at the math! Before we jump into an example, here’s a quick review of the pricing options and fees associated with the different Squarespace plans vs. Etsy (yes, I made a spreadsheet for this): 

Side-by-side it’s actually kind of hard to tell which plan is best because of the different pricing structures so let’s use a real example. 

• In this example, we’re going to pretend that you only sell one product that is priced at $40 (about the average of an Etsy item).

• We’re also going to assume that you sell everything without needing to renew your listing so that you only pay the Etsy listing fee of $0.20 once. (This may not be the reality, which would only serve to make the Etsy costs even higher.)

• Let’s pretend that you sell 750 units per year which works out to be roughly 60 sales per month or 15 per week.

• Based on these numbers your gross sales would be $30,000 per year. 

Running these numbers through all of our Squarespace plans and Etsy pricing, here’s what each platform and plan would cost you. 

• Squarespace Basic Commerce - $1,381.50 (4.61% of sales)

• Squarespace Advanced Commerce - $1,645.50 (5.49% of sales)

• Etsy - $3,307.50 (11.03% of sales)

Moving to even Squarespace’s most expensive plan would save over $1600 a year right off the top! But that’s not even the whole picture. 

Etsy also has this sneaky little thing called their “Offsite Ads program” which you cannot opt out of once you have reached $10,000 or more in annual sales. This program means that they can (without your consent, approval, or oversight) place ads in search and on social media and then charge you an additional 12-15% in fees. This could end up costing you thousands — $3,600 in our example above to be exact!! The details on this program are super nebulous but you can get the gist of them here.

Basically, it’s easy to see how Etsy fees can really start to have an impact on your bottom line as your sales grow. 

On Squarespace, the sky’s the limit when it comes to growth. You won’t pay more the more you sell and, in fact, as your sales grow the fixed costs of owning and operating your own eCommerce website will go down with each additional order that comes in!

Step-by-Step Instructions on How to move your Etsy shop to Squarespace

Step-by -step instructions on How to Move Your Etsy Shop to Squarespace

One of the reasons why you may have chosen Etsy in the first place is because it made it fast and easy to get started. But you can do the same thing over on Squarespace. Let me show you how!

1. Start With a Great Free Template

There are lots of great free and paid templates on Squarespace (check out some of my faves here and here).

But if you’d like me to cut to the chase and just tell which template I think would be a great start if you’re moving from Etsy, I say pick the Maru Template.

Here’s why: 

• It’s simple - in a good way! There’s not a lot of filler content to have to delete or write over and it has just the pages and elements you need to start. 

• It’s shop-focused - just replace the demo products with your own and you’re in business!

• It can adapt to pretty much any style - so it doesn’t matter if your design is a little funkier or a little more conservative than the demo shows! Once your own fonts and colors are set, it will take on the perfect mood!

Get started by signing up for a free 14-day trial of Squarespace using the Maru template using this link and then clicking on “Start With This Design.”

2. Add Your Content - But Keep it Simple!

On Etsy, you have very little space to get to write about your business so moving to your own website can sometimes feel overwhelming because you have so much real estate to fill up! It’s like living in a tiny studio apartment and then moving to a huge mansion - there are so many empty rooms to fill! 

With this in mind, I would encourage you to keep things simple. Start by just using the content areas shown in the demo and overwrite it with some words of your own. You don’t have to furnish the whole new house at once! 

If it’s too much, I would also say to go ahead and skip the about page (you can always hide it from public view for now). Remember, even with just a simple home page, your shop, and a contact page you already have 3 more pages of your own online than you did on Etsy! 

Just focus on getting a few things out there and you can always add on later.

3. Commerce Settings

Just like on Etsy, there are a few eCommerce settings you need to set up once, and then they are taken care of until something changes. Truly, set it and forget it! 

Fun fact: when I first got started doing websites exactly 1,487 years ago, I basically just clicked on every single settings menu available no less than 32 times each to make sure I didn’t miss anything!

Why? Because it’s a lot and you can totally feel like you’re missing a tiny checkbox somewhere!

Or that somewhere there’s a hidden setting that’s going to have lifelong impacts on the stability of your business. 

DO. NOT. WORRY. 

All my clicking around and the core of eCommerce boils down to three really simple basics. 

So even though there are lots of settings in the Squarespace Commerce section for now we’re just going to focus on how you want to get paid, what shipping options do you want to offer, and how you’ll handle sales tax. That’s really all you need!

I’m going to save you some headaches of your own and give you the simplest, most straightforward, get right-to-selling options to go with:

1. Payments - I recommend Stripe (+ Afterpay if your products are $100+)

2. Shipping - I recommend just offering free shipping to start

3. Taxes - I recommend setting up TaxJar and turning on automatic sales tax calculations

Related posts you may find helpful:

• How to Choose an eCommerce Merchant Processor

• How to Set Up a Profitable Shipping Strategy on Squarespace

• How to Set Up Automatic Tax Calculations on Squarespace with TaxJar

All of the settings above are taken care of in the Commerce panel (just click on Commerce from the left-hand dashboard menu). Remember, the goal here is just to launch. Taking care of payments, taxes and shipping will get you in business. You can always keep refining other settings and options later on as you grow!

4. Import Etsy Products Into Squarespace

Ok, you may be wondering how we could conclude the Commerce section above without addressing the most important thing - your products! 

That’s because moving your shop from Etsy to Squarespace COULD NOT BE EASIER thanks in large part to the built-in import tool from Squarespace. 

Your awesome products are what got you this far so I wouldn’t dare ask you to ditch what you’ve already worked so hard on! 

Before we jump into the specific steps needed to import products, here are some quick tips: 

What info does Squarespace import from Etsy: 

• Product titles

• Descriptions

• Photos

• Inventory

• Prices

• Shipping dimensions of products

Note: Only active and sold out products are imported. (If for some reason you don’t have any active or sold old products then draft, inactive, and expired products will be imported.) Also, in order to import everything accurately be sure to temporarily turn off “Vacation Mode” on Etsy. You can turn it back on right after import which should only take a few minutes or so!

How to Import Etsy Products Into Squarespace: 

• Quick version: Commerce > Inventory > Import > Etsy > Get Started > then just follow the on screen prompts!

• Full version: You can find complete step-by-step instructions in the Squarespace help center here. 

After you import your products into Squarespace, there’s still a little work to do but I promise it’s 1,000 times easier than adding all your products one-by-one! 

Tips & Tasks for After Import:

• Review how your products look. Sometimes what works on Etsy seems out of place on your own site. For example: did you write really long, oddly detailed product names on Etsy so that you could stand out in search results? Yeah, you don’t have to worry about that here! Clean up names so that they are short and sweet and remove any references to Etsy processes from your product descriptions.

• Add product categories & tags. This is so key in making sure your shop is easy to browse and that all products are super discoverable! (For more on how to use product categories & tags in Squarespace, check out this post.)  

• Add, delete or rearrange product photos. Put your best foot forward and make sure your product thumbnails are all the best pics you have and that they are consistent in style.

• Add product variation images. This is one of the best things you can do to make your product page feel really interactive and really helps people have a crystal clear picture of what they’re ordering. 

“One of the best things about moving from Etsy to Squarespace is that you don't have to lose what you've already built.”

5. Bonus Step! Import Reviews

One of the biggest reasons I hear that people want to stick around on Etsy is because they have some great reviews they don’t want to leave behind! Those are coming with us, too, though! 

What Etsy Review Info Imports Into Squarespace:

• Customer names & images

• Product titles & images

• Review text & dates

• Star ratings

Notes & Tips:

• You need to make sure you import products BEFORE trying to import reviews otherwise this won’t work! 

• Reviews aren’t synced so if you plan on continuing to sell on Esty and you get new reviews, you can repeat the process below to pull in fresh reviews. 

• Following the steps below will add ALL Etsy reviews you have to ALL products. Depending on your situation, this could be ALOT. If you’d rather just show some select reviews here and there I would recommend adding them to your new site manually.

Ready to import those reviews? Here are the steps: 

• Quick version: Commerce > Product Reviews > Import from Etsy > then just follow the on screen prompts!

• Full version: You can find complete step-by-step instructions in the Squarespace help center here. 

6. Launch Your New Site!

It’s finally time to launch your new site but there’s one last task that I would take care of first: be sure to add a newsletter sign-up box to your site!

After all one of the biggest reasons why you’re moving over is because you know how important it is that you own your own contacts. I would recommend adding a newsletter box to the footer of your site but you can also link to one in a popup or even ask customers at check out if they’d like to subscribe. Easy! 

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Subscribe & Launch! 

• When you’re ready to launch, you can just hit the upgrade button that should be at the bottom of your trial site or go to: Settings > Billing & Account > Subscriptions > Website > Upgrade and follow the prompts from there. (Not sure which plan to pick, see the FAQs below!)

• Make sure you turn your site visibility to public so that everyone can see your work and buy from you! To do this to to: Settings > Site Availability > Public > Save.

Congrats! You’re in business! 🎉 

At its simplest, these are the steps on how to move your Etsy shop to Squarespace and launch a new online shop for the first time. This will get you to a place where you can do business online on your very own website! There are lots of ways to continue to improve and expand from here whether it’s working on email marketing, SEO, order management, shipping/fulfillment, promotions and offers… the list can really go on and on. 

But the goal is just to start, to have something you can grow and build on. Congrats!

FAQs

• What Should You Do With Your Etsy Shop?

  Now that you have your own shiny, new Squarespace website what should you do with your Etsy shop? Well, the way I see it you have a few options: 

  Option 1 - Use Etsy for what it is: as a glorified search engine & lead generator. Keep a handful of your best sellers active on your Esty shop but add a note in the announcement section promoting your new site. And since the best future customers are often people who have already purchased from you, you could even go a step further and include a card in all shipments from your Etsy shop promoting your website as a way to discover your full product line. 

  Option 2 - Put your Etsy shop into vacation mode. This will allow you to leave everything as is on Etsy while you give your new website all the attention. 

  Option 3 - If you’re fully ready to ditch Etsy, you can say goodbye and deactivate your account following the steps here.

  FWIW, I recommend going for Option 1 for a couple months, then going to Option 2 for a bit and then finally Option 3. This will allow you to make a nice transition for your existing Etsy customers and also still have your info available in Etsy in case you realize you forgot or overlooked something on your Squarespace site. 

• Can you sell on both Etsy and Squarespace?

  Sure - why not? I mean, to me they are two completely different audiences so if you feel like you have the bandwidth to manage both (and are willing to pay the fees to do so!) then you could definitely sell on both.

  In this post, I review a product called Trunk as a tool to keep inventory in sync between Squarespace and Shopify but you can also use it to make sure that Squarespace and Etsy are always up to date!

  If you do decide that you want to continue selling on Etsy alongside your new Squarespace site, I would highly recommend adding Trunk to your arsenal to prevent overselling on one platform or another!

• How many products can you currently import from Etsy to Squarespace?

  On Squarespace 7.1, you can import up to 300 products from Etsy.

• How many product reviews can you import from Etsy to Squarespace?

  You can import up to 250 reviews from Etsy.

• Which Squarespace plan is best for Esty sellers?

  If you’re not sure which plan to go with I would recommend checking out this post but the TL;DR is that most sellers should choose the Basic Commerce at a minimum.

  Whichever plan you go with, I recommend paying for your subscription annually vs. monthly so that you can score a free domain name and free custom Google workspace email in addition to a few other bonuses!

3 Mistakes New Online Sellers Make

If you’re new to the world of e-commerce, it can be... overwhelming. And that’s probably putting it mildly. There are so many things that people will say you need to know and do — and most of it is all written in some sort of techie language that you don’t speak. Honestly, I think it’s probably why there are still so many small businesses that don’t have a website. (Depending on who you ask, estimates are that between 37% to 46% of small businesses in the US still don’t have a website!)

As consumer demand for online shopping options continues to rise, businesses that have even a small web presence will beat out those without one. As I’ve worked with hundreds of clients over the years (and also just browsed a lot of websites), I’ve identified three major mistakes I see a lot of e-commerce newbies make. So, if you’ve been struggling with making the leap from brick-and-mortar or word-of-mouth selling to fledgling e-commerce business, read up. The best part? The solutions aren’t the least bit technical :)

Mistake #1

They make the project bigger than it needs to be. 

All too often, I see business owners struggle with e-commerce projects (or put them off altogether) because they are just trying to do too much with their new website at once. They put too much pressure on trying to get everything online and making it all “perfect” when they should be focusing on making smaller, more incremental improvements over time. Some people blame this on being a “perfectionist” but I say it’s a diversion tactic and, unfortunately, it’s costing business.

Possible Solutions:

“The incremental sales boost you’ll get from having just 25% of your top sellers online is still going to be better than no sales at all if you waited to get everything ready to go first.”

• If you have a large inventory, don’t worry about getting it all online at once. Pick a handful of your best sellers and start there. The incremental sales boost you’ll get from having just 25% of your top sellers online is still going to be better than no sales at all if you waited to get everything ready to go first. Remember, time = money.

• Break the project up into phases. Start by moving just one product or service type online or only providing limited options or variations at first. This will allow you to test things out to see how they go while keeping costs down. Customers would rather have limited options than no options.

• Start simple and add fancy features later. Your website doesn’t have to have all the bells and whistles on the day you launch. You can always work on adding cool new things down the road. Keeping your site simple to start will allow you to get launched faster and you can use the analytics (and sales!) from those initial online customers to help you add to your site as you grow. The added benefit here is that it will give people a reason to keep coming back to see what’s new!

Mistake #2

They say too much.

There are typically two reasons why we tend to say too much on our websites: 1) we think it's all about us or 2) we think if we could just tell people more that will encourage them to buy. This results in websites with giant, boring blocks of text or super complicated menus - both of which are a big turn-off when it comes to sales.

Again, the best sites are simple, straightforward, and highly skimmable. Most e-commerce sites need only a few static pages (such as an about page and an FAQ page) but I often see newbies give more real estate to the history of their company than they do to what they’re actually selling. This is a huge mistake and has the unintended side effect of reducing sales, which makes people think e-commerce isn’t worth it. The truth is, we’re often getting in our own way when it comes to sales.

Copywriting Tips:

• Keep the focus on your products or services and the benefits they provide to your customer or client. People don’t care about you, they care about what you can do for them. Good news: this means the pressure’s off your need to write the perfect bio or company mission statement. (No one was reading it anyway.)

• Avoid technical jargon or long explanations, even if you think they are important to what you’re selling.

• Whenever possible, write in bullet points or be open to layouts that push the extraneous details down the page or out of view for most customers. For example, moving super detailed info to a FAQ page or hiding it in a drop-down versus putting it all out there upfront. This way, it's there for the small percentage of people who want to see it but it's not in the way for everyone else.

• A good rule of thumb for web copy is to write out what you think you need to say, then cut it in half... and then cut it in half again. Upside: less to write and faster to launch!

Mistake #3

They spend too much time on design.

“E-commerce isn’t a 6 trillion dollar market segment by mistake. There’s a ton of science and strategy to the designs you see online and rookies spend time tinkering with things that don’t need tinkering.”

There’s a reason most websites share a lot of the same layouts and features: it’s because they work. E-commerce isn’t a 6 trillion dollar market segment by mistake. There’s a ton of science and strategy to the designs you see online. And as much as it pains those of us who enjoy aesthetically pleasing websites to admit, function really does matter more than form.

This is another case where rookies have a tell and that’s that they tinker with things that don’t need tinkering. There’s a reason why the button is always where the button always is. Or why menu elements always behave a certain way. It’s because it’s an important part of helping users know how to interact with them.

The upside here is that not worrying about moving things a pixel to the left or right is that you can get to launch day way faster. Also, this isn't to say that design isn't super important to how a website performs, just that for most small businesses, the return on investment just isn't there. It's not worth it to spend months and months stuck in design and development, essentially reinventing the wheel.

Tips to get the most out of the web design process:

• Find a web designer you like and whose design style you vibe with and then trust them to do their thing. This doesn’t mean that your input isn’t an important part of the process; just that you hired them for a reason. Your success and happiness are important and they aren't going to steer you wrong.

• Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you'd like to know more about the reasons why a design or layout choice was made. In most cases, user experience best practices have guided the decision to put a button here or a link there and we may not recommend moving or changing it if you'd like to maximize sales/conversions but we're always happy to explain why.

• In 99.9% of cases, it's best to just pick a theme or template as a great starting point and spend time building out a great user and customer experience around that versus going for a completely custom build. Again, this comes down to ROI and doing everything possible to get you to launch day faster!

If you’re struggling with getting started here’s a post you might find helpful: A Step-by-Step Guide to Starting an eCommerce Business in 2024.

What Are All the Things You Can Sell on Squarespace?

Squarespace’s latest ad campaign is all about how “Squarespace has everything you need to sell anything” and that’s great because the average online seller these days is often selling way more than simple goods. Products are often sold as bundles or subscriptions. Business owners want to be able to provide the option for shoppers to customize or personalize their orders. Entrepreneurial service providers, consultants, coaches, and trainers all need to be able to sell their offerings, fill up workshops, or get paid for their time. 

If you ask me, this is where it really matters which eCommerce platform you choose. Squarespace does so many things with absolute ease but when you add any complexity to the mix platforms like Shopify start to fall apart. Shopify can work ok if you sell simple physical products but - let's be honest - that’s just not what modern eCommerce looks like.

The Truth Behind the Shopify App Store

Nothing bothers me more than having to add a bunch of paid apps just to make things work, so it should come as no surprise that I have a very contentious relationship with the Shopify app store. Sure, possibilities seem endless when you start looking around but you soon realize that each app comes with its own limitations, its own varied level of customer service or support, its own technical hang-ups, and its own monthly subscription cost.

All of this is to say that one of the zillion reasons why I love Squarespace for eCommerce is that you really can sell just about anything and everything! And for the very few things that are paid extras, they’re designed as part of the platform so you never have to worry about whether they’re going to integrate with the rest of your website seamlessly or who to contact for support. So, without further ado, a comprehensive list of all the things you can sell on Squarespace:

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Included

Physical Products

Physical products are anything that is a tangible good that is shipped. Products can be straightforward and simple or super complex - things are totally customizable! For complex products, you can add up to 6 product options with a max of 250 total variants.

Product options are things like size, color, or style but are completely customizable to whatever you need them to be. Product variants are just the max number of all the possible combinations of the product options. 

You can also sell personalized or customizable products by using a combo of product options and custom product or custom checkout forms. (For super extreme cases you can also embed a custom order form into Squarespace.) 

Digital Products

Digital products are things like printables, PDFs, eBooks, audio or video files, or any other file you want. The max file size is 300 MB but you can also sell access to multiple files as one product by zipping up the files into one folder. Customers receive a link to download the files in your product and have 24 hours to download before the link expires. Squarespace’s back end management tools allow you to easily do things like resend order download emails and manage customers. 

Service Products

eCommerce isn’t just for shipped products! Smart service providers make it easy for their customers and clients to access their offerings by selling them online. Simple services can be added just like regular products. This works great for some things like consultations or flat rate services that don’t require someone to select a specific time for use at checkout. Services can be one-time or recurring and can also have custom product forms just like physical products (above). 

Service products can also be things like events, workshops, meetings, group classes, or tours that occur at specific times. You have a couple different options on how to set these up - either as a combo of a service product (with or without the event calendar) or by using the Squarespace Scheduling add-on (detailed below). 

Print On Demand & Drop Shipped Products

Squarespace has some great print on demand and dropshipping extensions that allow you to sell physical products in your shop without needing to carry any inventory or manage things like shipping and fulfillment. These include: 

• Art of Where

• Printful 

• Printique

• Spocket

For more details on Squarespace product & inventory extensions, check out this post. 

Subscription Products

You can turn any physical or service product into a subscription product on Squarespace! This is a great option if you sell anything from food subscription boxes to recurring consultations. In addition to all the regular eCommerce options, you can set things like the subscription frequency (weekly, monthly, annually) and the billing cycle (anywhere from once to eternity).

Another great reason to choose Squarespace for subscription products is that it is so easy for customers to be able to manage their own accounts. Customer accounts allow you to focus on running your business since customers can do things like reset their account password, edit their next order date or subscription frequency, see their order history or update their billing and shipping information in their account on their own. 

Gift Cards

I think every shop should have gift cards! These are super simple to add and each gift card is automatically issued its own unique code that customers can either send to their recipient (or themselves 😊). You can set up gift cards for any value(s) you’d like and the value never expires!

Other Kinda Commerce-y Things

• Donations - You can accept donations of any amount you choose on your site using the donation block. Tip: you can also hack the donation block to sell products or services at pay-what-you-want pricing :)

• Restaurant Reservations & Online Ordering - Squarespace has great extensions meant just for restaurants. Check out OpenTable and Tock to get started. 

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Things That Require a Paid Add On

Scheduling 

Squarespace Scheduling is an add-on that works well for services and classes that need to be booked at specific times. But this tool is way more than just online booking & appointments! You can also use it to create packages, sell service subscriptions, book group classes and workshops, sell access to recurring events and more. 

For a full review of all you can do with Squarespace Scheduling check out this post. 

Memberships

Squarespace Member Areas allows you to create gated content that people need to pay for access to. Everything is completely customizable including setting up the billing intervals, membership options, what people see when they log in and all the custom emails that go along with a membership. Another great thing is that customers can also manage their own membership accounts just like with any of the other items you sell on Squarespace. 

For a full review of all you can with Squarespace Member Areas check out this post.

The Ultimate Squarespace eCommerce Guide

There’s so much information out there about Squarespace web design and eCommerce but that’s half the problem! It’s all over the place and not necessarily right where you need it! So I decided to corral some of my favorite posts on everything from choosing Squarespace for your new eCommerce website to mapping out a winning eCommerce strategy, from launch day to managing the day-to-day. Wherever you are in the process, I’ve got you covered!

Choosing Squarespace

As a small business owner, you have a lot of choices that you’re going to need to make. But it’s the first one that’s arguably the most important. To me, choosing Squarespace for eCommerce is a no-brainer but I want to help you get all the facts so you can decide for yourself.

• Why I Love Squarespace for eCommerce

• Squarespace vs. Shopify: Which is best for small business?

• Built-In Features for Selling on Squarespace

• What are all the things you can sell on Squarespace?

• What eCommerce Platform am I Recommending Most These Days?

• 3 Squarespace eCommerce Myths

• What does it cost to start an eCommerce website in 2021?

Early Decisions

Some of the early decisions in the eCommerce web design process are things you can set and forget but even simple things can help make sure you’re set up for success moving forward.

• 3 Mistakes New Online Sellers Make

• The Best eCommerce Templates for Squarespace

• Which Squarespace Plan is Right For You?

• Legal Checklist for New eCommerce Businesses

• How To Set Up a Privacy Policy & Terms of Service On Your Website

• How to Choose an eCommerce Merchant Processor

Map Out a Winning eCommerce Strategy

I wish I could tell you that eCommerce was as easy as making a website public and watching the money roll in but the reality is you need a solid eCommerce strategy in place to keep things on track. These simple and straightforward resources are here to help!

• Should you offer free shipping?

• 8 Tips for Designing an Impressive eCommerce Home Page

• How to Make a Great FAQ Page (and What to Put On It)

• Customizing Your Store's Email Notifications

• How to Create a Seamless Checkout Experience

• 6 Steps to Creating an Effective Online Store

Go above & Beyond

The difference between ho-hum and fabulous is usually just paying attention to the little details that your competition most definitely missed. Don’t worry - I’m going to make sure that you’re prepped and ready to crush it and stand out from the crowd.

• How to Map Your eCommerce Customer Journey in 2 Simple Steps

• 7 Ways to Build Trust (and Boost Sales) on Your eCommerce Website

• Website Tips from an eCommerce Pro

• How to Optimize Your Squarespace Product Pages

• 12 Ways to Build a More Empathetic Brand

Launch With Confidence

Launch day doesn’t have to be nerve-wracking! You can sell on Squarespace with confidence when you know your site is on point from all angles.

• Squarespace & SEO

• eCommerce Pricing Strategies

• Minimalist's Guide to Squarespace Sales & Marketing Extensions

• Squarespace eCommerce Launch Checklist

Manage the day-to-day

To me, once your site is up and running is when the fun really begins! You can build new features, add new products and continue to refine the experience - all decisions you can back up with data.

• Order Fulfillment 101

• How to Sell on Instagram

• 4 Post-Sale Emails Every eCommerce Site Needs

• Crash Course Into the Squarespace Commerce Analytics Panel

• 4 Things You Can Do Today to Boost Website Sales

Legal Checklist for New eCommerce Businesses

Starting a new business, especially an online shop or an eCommerce business, can sometimes feel like heading out for an exotic vacation. You’re excited to get where you’re going and you have a ton of cool ideas of how things are going to go once you get there but you arrive at the airport pretty much convinced that you’ve forgotten to pack something critically important. You just have that anxious feeling that no matter how well prepared you thought you were that you’ve somehow left something behind. And the anxiety over this can sometimes be enough to ruin the whole trip! 

Well, consider this your packing checklist for setting off on the right foot for your eCommerce journey! As someone who’s started multiple small businesses myself, I definitely wish I had come across something like this that was complete and <b>trustworthy</b>. I even thought about putting together a list myself but {newsflash} I’m no lawyer. So I was super excited when an email from Paige Hulse of Paige Hulse Law and the Creative Law Shop recently came across my inbox on this exact topic! 

In her post, Paige details all the steps on how to legally start an online shop. You should definitely click through to her post to get out all the legal specifics but I’m going to summarize most of them here, along with a few additions and notes that I think will help specifically ensure that you’re set up for eCommerce success! 

1. Run a Name Search - This seems obvious but there’s a reason why it’s repeated over and over - and why it’s number one on the list! Paige rightfully mentions that most people check whether the domain they want or the social media handles that match are available and often do little else but that’s not the only error some new business owners make when it comes to naming. What I’ve experienced is that too many people fall into the trap of thinking too small when it comes to their name. They either don’t make their search wide enough when looking for any potential conflicts or they settle for a super limited local name just because the domain is available. For more domain name tips, check out this post (hint: #4 is all about domains). 

2. Get Any Required Licenses & Permits - The exact list is going to vary widely depending on what you’re selling and where you’re located but it’s worth seeking out someone who is familiar with 1) your industry, 2) your area and 3) eCommerce for guidance. That last one is super important because even though selling online is still a little bit like the wild, wild West there are changes and new laws cropping up all the time. Also, just because you work from home does not mean you are somehow exempt from licensing. The last thing you want is to get shut down or see some major fines in the future because you didn’t have the right credentials in place or pay the proper fees. 

3. Legal Contracts Are Your Friend - Don’t sleep on this step! Not only is it super important to set up the required privacy policies and terms of service for your eCommerce website, but it’s also really become more affordable than ever to make sure you’re protected. Check out this post that includes two of my favorite options. This is really a non-negotiable and not something you can opt-out of and just “take care of later.” If you plan on selling online, you need these legal policies and clauses in place. (If you’d like to learn even more about GDPR compliance, check out this post from Style Factory!)

4. File Your LLC - Obviously, you may want to check with your own lawyer and maybe even loop in your tax dude on this decision but the point really is that you need to make sure that your business assets and your personal assets are not one and the same. A DBA does not cut it. An LLC is the most popular route to take to make sure that you're protected. In the words of the late, great Notorious B.I.G.: keep your family and business completely separated. 

5. Get Your EIN Number - Surprisingly, this is one of the fastest tasks on the list! Who knew that a solution featuring irs.gov would ever be so easy?!

6. Open a Business Bank Account - Remember: no mixing things up. Personal money 👉 personal account. Business money 👉 business account. Simple. 

7. Get Insured - This is another situation where it pays to seek out someone familiar with your business/industry and eCommerce in general. Even if it’s just a general liability policy, you want to be protected.

8. Website Stuff - I do think that you can do a little more in this step beyond just making sure that your legal policies and copyright are linked in your website footer, although both of those are super important! One of the more intricate things that comes up with each and every client I work with is sales tax. And it’s no surprise to me that everyone is confused - it can be super complicated! Everything from the exact rates to how sales tax should be displayed and collected on your site can vary based on what you’re selling, where you’re located, where your customers are located and everything in between! You definitely want to confirm the specifics for your own case with your accountant or tax professional but the thing that I would recommend to everyone is planning on utilizing the automatic tax rates feature on Squarespace to ensure that sales tax is calculated correctly for each and every online transaction. 

9. Register Your Copyright or Trademark - This is super important if your business is anything other than your name but check out Paige’s post for all the details! I think this is especially important if you’re selling your own custom products such as t-shirts with your own designs or prints of your own photography work, etc. We’ve all read those horror stories about independent creators having their ideas stolen by big brands without credit. Again, don’t think small here; you’ll be thankful that you took care of these things early on! 

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Bottom Line

Getting started with your first online shop doesn’t have to be an overwhelming experience! Use guides like these to help you feel confident in setting off on your eCommerce journey without worrying that you’ve left something behind or forgot to turn off the stove! 🔥 Once you’ve taken care of the things on your legal list, you can confidently turn your attention to the fun stuff, like web design. For those next steps, check out: A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Set Up Your First Online Shop.

How to Launch Your Website… Even If You Don’t Have Anything to Sell Yet

Updated July 2021

There’s that saying that sometimes progress matters more than perfection and I have to say that it really rings true when it comes to launching a new website. I often see new entrepreneurs struggle to know when to “go live” with their idea or find out that they’ve been putting off launching a website because they are waiting until everything has all come together to do so. 

The beauty of modern web platforms like Squarespace is that they are infinitely scaleable. This means they can grow with you but this also means that they’re ready to work even if you don’t have anything - or everything - ready to sell just yet. You might be wondering what to put on a website for a business that is still in the pre-launch stage in which case… keep reading! The best news is that these methods are proven to help you:

• Get more customers,

• Charge higher prices, and

• Generate more leads when you are ready to flip the “eCommerce” switch! 

First Step: Set up a Coming Soon Page with an Email Opt-In Form

A coming soon page with a simple description of who you are and what you’re all about makes for a great stand-in for a full home page. After all, people do business with other people so there’s no time like the present to introduce yourself. 

The secret to making this successful is to include an email/newsletter opt-in form so that the page isn’t a complete dead end. Email marketing is the highest converting sales channel above all others so start building your list and come launch day, you’ll have a long list of people who are already eager to buy what you’re selling. 

Don’t overthink what needs to go on this page. A few sentences about your or the company + a rough overview of your general industry and how you plan on being different than the rest are all you need. The goal is to create a place that your business can start to call home.

Create A Freebie or Lead Magnet That Previews Your Product or Service

You’ll have a much better time getting people to give you their email addresses if you also include the promise of a small freebie or offer. This would be most effective if this is a small teaser of your future product or service but it could also be a coupon code that they can use once your store launches or a resource that your target demographic would find helpful. 

Setting up an automated email to deliver your freebie doesn’t have to be an expensive or complicated process. My preferred tool for this is built right into Squarespace: Email Campaigns! This is a great option because it’s completely free to build your list of any size and when you are ready to start sending emails you can send your first three for free.

Send Regular Updates of Your Progress

Not only is this great accountability to help keep you on track and focused on launch day, but it can also help create a sense of excitement and community around your brand that you can build on later. Remember, email is the #1 tool in your sales arsenal so any work you do building your list on the front end will pay dividends after you go live. 

Helpful Email Marketing Tips for Beginners

• Consistency is important so if you email your list every Friday for 3 months and then ghost them for the next three, they’re going to retaliate by marking your messages as spam when you decide to show back up. The frequency that you send messages out doesn’t matter as much as just creating a schedule you can commit to. 

• Use your emails as a way to casually poll or gauge interest in your products or services. Basically, if you want to know what your target audience wants, just ask them! Most people will gladly provide you with feedback or answer a simple question or two if they feel like they’re helping you create a solution that solves their problems. 

• Give behind-the-scenes updates and previews of what’s happening in your business even if it feels mundane or overly personal. Remember, people are there because they’re interested in what you have to offer. Show them what you’re working on even if it’s not perfect yet! 

• If all else fails and you don’t feel like you have much to say of your own yet, start training subscribers to look to you to be the expert in whatever it is you do by sending industry updates or links to other information on the web you think they’ll find valuable. This will help build trust with future customers that you’re willing to share about products and services that aren’t your own in order to help them.

Start a Blog

Blogging seems like it’s going to be overwhelming but it’s a great strategy to adopt for any new business. There’s no time like the present to get in this great habit! Use some of the same advice from the emails section above and create a consistent posting schedule that’s something you can stick to. Post on industry topics if you don’t have much of your own stuff to share just yet.

I’ll also tell you that there’s a secret behind-the-scenes bonus to getting your website live early even if it’s just a coming soon page + a blog: you’ll start building domain authority and SEO street cred right away! This is awesome because SEO is definitely a long game proposition. Any head start you can give yourself will really take the pressure off trying to get noticed once you launch your site and have the added pressure of needing to see the sales start rolling in. 

Create waitlists for products or offer pre-sales

Pre-launching products by letting customers know that they are coming soon is a great way to validate your ideas and build on that growing email list you’re already working on. It also can generate a little bit of buzz - similar to when people excitedly wait for the release of the latest book in a popular series or try to score early access to concert tickets. 

You have a couple of different options for this and I think the best one depends on how close you are to launch day. If you’re pretty far out, Squarespace makes it easy to create product waitlists where customers can sign up to be notified by email when products they are interested in become available. Once you get closer to launch, you could allow people to actually preorder - just make sure you are super clear about when products will be shipping to avoid frustration or confusion!

For more on the built-in selling tools available to you on Squarespace, check out this post.

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Bottom Line

The bottom line here is that it’s ok to launch a super small, scaled-back version of what your future website will actually be. Doing so allows you to start building your audience, testing ideas, getting feedback, and building habits that will help ensure your success whenever you are ready to fully launch. Remember that progress matters more than perfection and just start! Every eCommerce business started as someone’s simple idea and it’s ok to flesh it out bit by bit as things come together. Since adding features and content to a website is so easy these days, there shouldn’t be any fear about waiting to get all your ducks in a row before just diving right in. 

Squarespace vs. Shopify: Which is Best for Small Business?

The most popular question that pops up in my inbox is someone wondering whether to go with Squarespace or Shopify for their eCommerce website. The second most popular is how to connect the two which I describe here but then try to talk you out of doing here 😉 So I think it’s fair to say that I’m always willing to give each side its fair shot, present all the pros and cons, and then let you decide what you think is best for you. I mean I clearly have my favorite but that’s not this post.

One more little soapbox before we jump into the details on this subject is that you should definitely be looking at this from within the scope of your own business. It doesn’t matter what anyone else is using or doing. It doesn’t matter if your uncle’s best friend’s daughter’s neighbor who once had a semi-successful Etsy shop thinks you should use Shopify. Hell, it doesn’t even really matter if I think you should use Squarespace! At the end of the day, even if you want to try to be as hands-off as possible, you’re the one who will be spending the most time on your website both on the front end and back end) so aside from your customers, you’re going to be the #1 user. The point is: you have to love it and at least (somewhat) enjoy using it and that’s worth something.

Moving along, in this post, I’m going to break down the main considerations I look at when I’m trying to figure this question out with a client. Some of them have clear “right” answers and some are a little more subjective.

Considerations

What You Sell

This is always the first question I ask because it does a good job of letting me know at the highest level what the eCommerce needs will be. Do you sell mostly products or services? Do you need people to book things or make appointments? Are you offering memberships or subscriptions? Maybe you’re a mix of all the above? In the most general sense, I tend to give Shopify points for people selling very large volumes of strictly physical products but Squarespace points for everything else.

Something else that factors in is how complex or customizable your products are. Squarespace has the same capabilities as Shopify when it comes to setting up complex variants and can even do simple customizable products very well.

An example of the type of customizations I’m referring to would be if you ran a custom embroidery shop. If you just needed people to be able to enter their initials for a monogram on a product when they add it to their cart, I think Squarespace does that better than Shopify. However, if you needed the price to be variable based on what letters or how many letters were entered for the monogram, that may be a better fit for Shopify + a third-party plugin. All this being said, there are ways to solve this problem and stay on Squarespace just like there may be reasons why you wouldn’t want to go the Shopify + plugin route (i.e. cost). I’ve built shops with 10,000+ variants on Squarespace and others with 5 services on Shopify and both were right for those businesses despite initial impulse telling us it would be better the other way around!

Squarespace

• 10,000 products per store page (can have multiple pages if needed)

• Each product can have up to 6 options and up to 250 variant combinations

• You can sell physical, digital, service, and subscription products in addition to memberships, events, classes, and other scheduling-based products - all without any third-party apps.

Shopify

• Technically you’re allowed an unlimited number of products but some restrictions kick in after 50,000 products

• Each product can have up to 3 options and up to 100 variant combinations (more allowed with apps)

• You can sell physical products. Other product types (such as subscriptions or digital products) all require a third-party app from the Shopify app store.

• Access to large dropshipping network

Shipping & Fulfillment

Shipping has a way of either making it or breaking it for some online retailers. I don’t know why, it’s just a lot of merchants’ Achilles heel! Most of the time, I think it’s because they’re making things more complex than they need to be. You can check out this post on why I think you should keep it simple for yourself and your customers and just offer free shipping but if that’s not part of your strategy, it’s helpful to know the types of options you would like to offer. Flat rate or weight-based? Carrier calculated rates? Will most of your shipments be domestic or will some be international? Do you also offer local pickup or delivery… or are most of your items digital and don’t even require any shipping at all? 

Squarespace

• Free, flat rate or rate depending on weight shipping with any carrier you choose

• Carrier calculated rates for FedEx, UPS, or USPS (US Only)

• Ability to create shipping zones based on country, state/province, and zip/postal code (US & Canada)

• Print & pay for shipping labels directly through Squarespace or a shipping extension

• Third-party fulfillment options are possible by connecting to Shipwire or Fulfillment by Amazon through ShipStation

• Mutli-origin shipping through a shipping extension allows for shipping from multiple locations

• Print on Demand through Printful or Printique

Shopify

• Carrier calculated rates for DHL, UPS or USPS (US) or Canada Post (Canada) via Shopify Shipping

• Carrier calculated rates for FedEx if you have your own account with negotiated rates

• Ability to create country-wide shipping zones. Shipping zones based on zip or postal code possible with a third-party app

• Print & pay for shipping labels through Shopify Shipping or a third party extension from the app store

• Custom third-party fulfillment options or Fulfillment by Amazon with an Amazon Seller Central account

• Ability to activate multi-origin shipping if you need to track inventory across multiple locations

• Print on Demand options through the app store

Content & Design

I often hear potential clients say that they love the look of Squarespace but feel like they need the function of Shopify. In reality, you shouldn’t need to sacrifice design for function or vice versa - both are super important! Just because you’re planning on running the next big thing in eCommerce does not mean that things like style and content don’t matter. In fact, completely the opposite is true. Content is an important way to help you build an engaging brand. You’re going to want the ability to create landing pages, sales pages, a blog, and any other great-looking easily and effectively.

Squarespace

• All design layouts and features are available for all pages.

• Customize any page using any product block.

• Create galleries, custom forms, event calendars, and portfolio pages without the need for third-party plugins

• All pages have tidy URLs. For example “example.com/about” or “example.com/landing-page”

• Nearly limitless style capabilities on every single page element

• Rich blogging and podcasting capabilities are built-in

• Easy SEO features

Shopify

• Home page content capabilities are dependant upon theme

• Interior pages (anything besides the home page) are created within the Shopify admin and limited to customization via custom CSS/HTML

• Pages don’t have tidy URLs. For example “example.com/pages/about” or “example.com/pages/landing-page”

• Limited style capabilities, some dependant upon theme

• Simple blogging capabilities; layout and style are dependent upon the theme

• Simple SEO features, some more robust tasks require access to code

Cost & Payments

There are some small differences in plan costs on Squarespace and Shopify. For complete details on the various plans and their features, you can check out this post for Squarespace or this page for Shopify. It’s tough to compare apples-to-apples between Squarespace plans and Shopify plans because they don’t really break them up into similar tiers. So for comparison's sake, let’s just look at both of Squarespace’s Commerce plans (Basic & Advanced) and then Shopify Basic & Shopify. The other big thing to keep in mind is that many of the built-in features on Squarespace require paid apps on Shopify. Depending on what you need, paid Shopify apps can end up costing hundreds of dollars each month alone just to get features that are included on Squarespace such as custom forms, galleries, social media tools, product merchandising, and selling features, etc.

Squarespace

Basic Commerce

• Access to everything except Abandoned Carts, some advanced shipping and discount features & Commerce APIs

• Unlimited Contributor Accounts

• 0% Transaction Fees

• $26/mo (paid annually)

Advanced Commerce

• Access to all Squarespace features

• Unlimited Contributor Accounts

• 0% Transaction Fees

• $40/mo (paid annually)

Shopify

Shopify Basic

• Access to all features except reports & some international settings

• 2 Staff Accounts

• 2.0% transaction fees if not using Shopify payments otherwise 2.9% + 30¢ USD

• $29/mo

Shopify

• Access to all features except advanced reports

• 5 Staff Accounts

• 1.0% transaction fees if not using Shopify payments otherwise 2.6% + 30¢ USD

• $79/mo

Wildcards

• Are you starting from scratch or revamping an existing site? All of the above being said, there are always some variables and subtle nuances that I take into account when advising a client on which platform or subscription is best for them. To me, the most important of those is: do you have an existing website? If so, are there specific features or functionalities that you feel like you’re missing on that platform that you think switching to a different platform would help with? 

  I think people often want to change just because they think they should, or someone else told them they should, or they think that switching is going to magically solve a business problem they’re having. In reality, there may not be a need to scrap what you’ve already built entirely and it could be a better option to stay where you’re at and work on optimizing instead of moving. Moving a website to a new platform can cause a short-term dip in SEO and if you’ve built a lot of brand authority where you’re at, that’s an additional factor worth considering.

  There may also be updates to the platform you’re currently on that you’re just not taking full advantage of. For example, most Squarespace sites out there could stand to be updated to the new 7.1 platform from their current 7.0 versions which would instantly make things feel fresh and new and offer some advanced eCommerce options. 

• Does anyone ever really move from Shopify to Squarespace? The conversation is often framed as if Squarespace is the “starter” website and that after you find a little eCommerce success, you’re ready to “graduate” or move up to Shopify. And I’m just here to challenge this assumption!

  Moves can go both ways and you should select a platform that meets your business needs and goals for the next 2-4 years, regardless of what they were in the past. And, yes, this can mean moving from Shopify to Squarespace. Why would you do this? Several reasons: you’re looking for more design options and control, you want to focus on blogging as part of your key marketing strategy or you want to trim extraneous costs associated with Shopify apps just to name a few! So, while it’s definitely more common for people on Squarespace to wonder if they should be moving to Shopify, I think the future of eCommerce makes the simple, streamlined design of Squarespace a top contender as well.